1. مولاي عز الطلب

    وبي أضر السغب

    My lord, seeking aid has grown hard,

    and hunger has done me harm.

  2. ولم يكن لشقوتي

    عني يغني الأدب

    Nor, to my misfortune, did

    learning avail me.

  3. والشعر منه انقطع ال

    حبل وقل السبب

    And poetry—broken is its

    cord, and the means have dwindled.

  4. والجد لا يجدي ولا

    عني يغني اللعب

    And earnest effort brings no benefit, nor

    does play avail me.

  5. والخطب قد عم ولا

    يفيد فيه الخطب

    And calamity has spread everywhere; nor

    do speeches offer help amid it.

  6. وقل في الدهر العطا

    وزاد فيه العطب

    And giving has grown scarce in this age,

    and ruin has increased in it.

  7. والفقر قد لازمني

    واين منه الهرب

    And poverty has clung to me,

    and where is escape from it?

  8. وكل من اشكو له

    وعبرتي تنسكب

    And everyone to whom I complain,

    while my tears pour down,

  9. يقول ان رمت بان

    تزول عنك الكرب

    says: if you wish that

    your troubles leave you,

  10. دونك من بمدحه

    تعلو وتسمو الرتب

    turn to him, by praising whom

    ranks rise and soar:

  11. شهاب دين الله من

    به تضىء الشهب

    Shihab Din Allah, through whom

    the meteors shine;

  12. قاضي القضاة ذو العلا

    حسبك هذا النسب

    the judge of judges, possessed of eminence—

    this lineage is enough for you.

  13. مولى اذا يممته

    زال العنا والنصب

    A patron: when you seek him out,

    hardship and weariness vanish.

  14. هباته اقلها

    عند العطاء الذهب

    The least of his gifts,

    when he gives, is gold.

  15. لا يعتري راحته

    من النوال التعب

    His palm is never afflicted

    by fatigue from giving.

  16. وكفه بحر الندى

    منها الغنى يكتسب

    And his hand is a sea of generosity;

    from it wealth is gained.

  17. وبابه مجرب

    ينجح فيه الطلب

    And his door is tried and proven:

    requests succeed there.

  18. ومن اياديه لنا

    مزن الحيا ينسكب

    And among his favors toward us

    are clouds pouring life-giving rain.

  19. من ذا يضاهيها وهل

    يوما تضاهى السحب

    Who is there to rival them? And are

    clouds ever matched?

  20. فيا رفيع الفضل دم

    دهراً فهذا رجب

    So, O you of lofty merit, live on

    for ages, for this is Rajab.

  21. فاعطف على فقري به

    وجد عليك الحسب

    So have compassion on my poverty in it,

    and be generous, as your nobility demands.

  22. وخذ قصيدا نظمها

    ينشأ منه الطرب

    And accept a poem whose composition

    gives rise to delight.

  23. غريبة في بابها

    يعجب منها العجب

    Singular in its kind,

    wonder itself marvels at it.

  24. الى الحريري غدا

    نسيبها ينتسب

    To al-Hariri now

    its kin traces its lineage;

  25. والجوهري دره

    من لفظها ينتخب

    and al-Jawhari selects his pearls

    from its words.

  26. فلا برحت في نعيم

    لم يثنه لغب

    So may you ever remain in bliss

    that no weariness interrupts;

  27. ولم تزل يمناك من

    يسارها لي تهب

    and may your right hand never cease

    to give me from its abundance,

  28. ما غردت ورق وما

    مالت بهن القضب

    as long as gray doves coo and

    the boughs bend with them.