أطافتْ جبالُ الشوقِ بي وبحارُهُ

ولجَّ صُعُودُ الشوقِ بي وانحدارُهُ

The mountains of longing and its seas closed round me;

longing’s ascent with me—and its descent—grew relentless.

وَمَنْ غاب عن شَمْسِ المعالي وبدرِها

فَحُقَّ له ألاَّ يَقَرَّ قراره

Whoever is absent from excellence’s sun and full moon,

it is only right that he should never come to rest.

مكارمُ سيفِ الدولةِ الغرُّ كلُّها

على العُدْمِ سَيْفٌ لا يُفَلُّ غِرارُه

All the shining virtues of Sayf al-Dawla

are a sword against want, its edge never blunted.

فيا ليتني أَدْنتْ مزاري مطيّتي

إلى سيّدي إذ شطَّ عني مزارُه

If only my mount could bring my visit nearer—

to my lord, for his dwelling lies far from me.

على أنني إِنْ أَدْنُ أو كنتُ نائياً

فقلبي إليه حَجُّهُ واعتمارُه

Yet whether I draw near or remain far away,

my heart makes both its hajj and its ʿumrah to him.