خليفة الله مالي كلما بَسَطتْ

نفسي الرجاء حوى الحرمان آمالي

The viceroy of Allah, why is it that whenever

I extend my soul with hope, deprivation eats away at my aspirations?

وكلما كثرت والحال شاهدةٌ

وسائلي آذَنَتْ حالي بإقْلالِ

And whenever my means increase, my condition bears witness,

My state signals to me its paucity.

كأنني لم أشمْ برق ابن مُنْجبةٍ

جَمَّ المكارم للمعروفِ بَذَالِ

As if I never sensed the lightning of Ibn Munjibah

Who brought all noble deeds together for the sake of goodwill and generosity

أمضى الخلائف عزماً عند مجْلةٍ

وأثبتِ القوم قلْباً عند أهْوالِ

The most resolute caliphs at the time of tribulation

And the bravest men in times of terror

مُنكِّب العيش خفضاً من تهامُمه

ونازلٍ بشعافِ المجدِ مِحْلالِ

Turning away from vainglory with lowered ambitions

And descending from the peaks of glory with submission

وقد مدحتُ فلم أتركْ مُحبَّرةً

إلا لها ذاكرٌ في محْفِلٍ تالِ

And I have praised without leaving any eloquent words

That do not have a speaker mentioning them in every gathering

وقد وطئتُ بطرفي يوم حربكُم

بالقاسميَّةِ في هاماتِ أبْطالِ

And I have set foot with my eyes on the day of your battle

In Al-Qasimiya among the brows of heroes

وما نهدتمْ إلى غزوٍ فأقعدني

بخس الحظوظ ولا التقصير في الحال

And you did not refrain from invading so I would stay behind

Due to bad luck or inadequacy at the time

فارْعوا ذمام محبٍّ دون مجدكمُ

مقارعٍ بين قوَّالٍ وصَوَّالِ

So quench the thirst of a loving man apart from your glory

Struggling between a trickster and a peddler

وهوِّنوا المالَ في إحْراز حمدكمُ

فالحمدُ للمُقْتني أبقى من المال

And make the money easy in preserving your praise

For praise for the purchaser is more lasting than money