1. It is sorrow enough that I keep asking after the tribe,

    And dwellings and ruined traces have grown desolate without you.

  2. Once herds of wild cattle raced there out of envy;

    Now death's appointed times arrive there among the tribe.

  3. They would have kept their departure secret, but for pitch-black crows perched there.

    Indeed, crows are but a sieve for secrets.

  4. All beauty departed when they departed,

    Carried at a trot beneath the howdahs by camels.

  5. Unveiled, they were full moons; veiled, crescents;

    And they swayed like ban-tree boughs—and the ban-tree ever sways.

  6. So they are pearls within the shells of the howdahs;

    Their ships are she-camels, and their seas the mirage.

  7. How many a gazelle, her glances keen to hunt the

    Lions, though she is languid within her chamber!

  8. The brilliant stars and crescent moons wish they were

    Necklaces about her neck, and anklets upon her shins.

  9. Su'ad and Su'da favored me, from their dusky lips,

    With what I sought: how fortunate the omen proved!

  10. Just as the All-Merciful blessed Jilliq when it came to be

    Seen as the home where al-Mu'azzam often dwells.

  11. Damascus is Paradise, and musk is its soil;

    Its pebbles are rubies, and its water red wine.

  12. Through Sharaf al-Din al-Mu'azzam, it has come

    To strut above the cities in pride's embroidered robe.

  13. Indeed, since he settled there, it has been especially favored and filled

    With beauty, graciousness, excellence, and generosity.

  14. Behold, O King al-Mu'azzam, you are a blessing

    That settled in Jilliq and set its affairs aright.

  15. Kingship there befits none but him;

    Can lamp-wicks do the sun's work on the horizon?

  16. For within his breast is a surging sea of knowledge;

    And his mind, when composing verse, is a pearl merchant.

  17. No lion, bloodied of claw, a ravaging beast,

    With mates and cubs beside him in the thicket,

  18. A mighty lion whom defenders shun, before whom quail the

    Armored warriors, and heroes shrink from him in fear,

  19. And the stallions become drawn tight at the flanks,

    Their chests and rumps already wounded,

  20. Is braver than he when he brandishes his sword

    And a supple spear sways in his right hand for thrusting.

  21. Nor is rain, pouring from its spouts with rolling thunder—

    The clouds' skirts dragged along the earth,

  22. Scarcely stirred by the wind before there stand level

    Plains and mountains beneath the torrents' onrush—

  23. More copious than his right hand, pouring forth bounty;

    For no land he settles ever knows drought.

  24. Dignified, awe-inspiring to souls, yet his character

    Is Salsabil and sweet-flowing water to his companion.

  25. When haughty kings busy themselves with their diversions,

    He has no occupations but noble deeds.

  26. He has donned the new robes of eminence;

    And can a new mantle and worn rags be equal?

  27. May the year, auspicious in its return, bring him joy,

    With enduring sovereignty, unaltered by changing fortunes.

  28. May his endeavors within it never cease to behold

    The radiant faces of wishes, so that hopes may be attained.

  29. Whenever petitioners meet the radiance of his face,

    Acceptance and welcome from him greet them.

  30. How many a needy man came to him hoping for his bounty,

    And the seeker of his generosity returned possessing wealth!

  31. May he ever possess sovereignty whose shade is outspread

    Over him, while full buckets fall short of his bounty.

Sol 6.1