خليفةَ الله إنّ الدهرَ مُذْ طَلَعَت

فيه سعودُك بادي الحسن محبوبُ

O Caliph of God, ever since your auspicious stars rose

within it, Time has appeared fair and beloved.

أعَدْتَ آسِنَه عَذْباً بلا كَدَر

وصَرْفَه الصَّعْبَ فينا وهو مَرْكُوب

You made its stagnant water sweet again, without a trace of murk,

and mastered its harsh reversals against us, difficult though they were to ride.

إنِّي بعثتُ طريفاً وهي سُنْبلةٌ

تَمَّتْ فتمّ لرائيها الأعاجيب

I have sent a rarity—a single flowering spike;

it reached perfection, completing wonders for whoever sees it.

وسَوْسَناً تمَّ مرآهُ ومَخْبرُهُ

فقد تَكامل فيه الحسن والطِّيب

And an iris, perfect in appearance and in essence:

in it beauty and fragrance have reached their fullness.

كأنّه مِعْصَمٌ بالكفّ مُتَّصلٌ

له بَنانٌ من الحِنّاء مخضوب

It is like a wrist joined to a palm,

with fingers stained by henna.

وقد تفَاءلتُ فيه أنّ باكِرَه

بُكور عزِّك ما في ذاك تَكْذيب

I took it as a happy omen: that its first flowering

is the early dawning of your glory—there is no falsehood in that—

وأنّها سَنَةٌ جاءت مبارَكةً

تَدِين فيها لك الزَّوْراء والنُّوبُ

and that this is a year that has come blessed,

in which al-Zawra and the Nubians submit to you.