تيقنوا أن قلبي منهم يجب

فاستعذبوا من عذابي فوق مايجب

Know that my heart for them will remain

So take my torment gently, more than deserved

وأعرضوا ووجوه الود مقبلة

وللمكارم قلب ليس ينقلب

And turn your kind faces away

A generous heart does not turn away

ولو قدرت لأسلاني عقوقهم

وكم عقوق سلت أم به وأب

If I could unleash their disobedience

How much disobedience did a father and mother endure

إن لم يكن ذلك الإعراض عن ملل

فسوف ترضيهم العتبى إذا عتبوا

If it's not boredom that turned them away

Then apologies will please them when they complain

وإن تكدر صاف من مودتهم

فالشمس تشرق أحياناً وتحتجب

Even if their affection becomes troubled

The sun still rises, though sometimes it hides

لم ترض عيذاب أني مسني نسب

من أهلها وجرى لي منهم تعب

She did not accept the torment that touched me

From her people, and I suffered because of them

حتى لقيت بقوص لا سقت أبداً

أكناف قوص ولا من حلها السحب

Until I came upon barren sands, which never

Touched the bosoms of barren sands or clouds

عوارضاً كشف المريخ صفحته

لهن والمشتري عنهن محتجب

Rejections the Mars uncovered his landscape

For them, while Jupiter remains hidden

وكان إعراض سيف الدين أكبر ما

لقيت والبحر تنسى عنده القلب

Yet the estrangement of Saif Al-Din was the greatest

I encountered, while beside it the heart forgets the sea

أتيت من مأمني فيه وفاجأني

ما لم تكن أعين الآمال ترتقب

I came from my refuge in him and was surprised

By what hopeful eyes had not foreseen

وأرجف الناس حتى قال قائلهم

يا رائد الحي لا ماء ولا عشب

And people shook until one said

O guide of life, no water or grass

فقلت هل أفقر الوادي أم افتقر النادي

أم انحل ذاك الكرب والكرب

So I said, did the valley run dry or the clan grow poor

Or did that worry and sorrow dissolve

فقيل بل جملة الأحوال حالية

ومعقل العز معمور القنا أشب

I was told, no, it's just the current state of affairs

And the fortress of might is inhabited, the cups full

وإنما المجلس السيفي منحرف

فإن تعذر مأمول فلا عجب

It's just that the Saifi council has strayed

So if hopes are frustrated, it's no surprise

وكيف لا تعرض الدنيا متابعة

لرأيه وهو في إقبالها السبب

How could the world not turn away, following

His opinion, when he's the reason for its prosperity

لولا شفاعته الحسنى نائله الأسنى

لما أنجح المسعى ولا الطلب

Were it not for his blessed intercession, the aim of his wishes

Neither effort nor seeking would succeed

يا جامع العز والتقوى وبينهما

بون بعيد المرامي ليس يقترب

O gatherer of might and piety, and between them

A distance too vast to approach or near

قد بان لي منك أمر كنت أجهله

وغامض العلم بالتدريج يكتسب

It has become clear to me something I was ignorant of

And the obscure becomes known gradually

بأنك المرء في أهل وفي وطن

لكنه بالسجايا البيض مغترب

That a man among family and homeland

Is a stranger in white clothes with good manners

صافي المروءة لولا فضل نخوته

ودينه أدرك الواشون ما طلبوا

Of pure chivalry, were it not for the bounty of his nobility

And faith, the slanderers would have gotten what they sought

وكيف ينفق زور عند مجلسه

والغالبان عليه الدين والحسب

How could lies spread in his council

When religion and reputation prevail over it