1. راعَهُ الشَيبُ إِذ نَزَل

    وَكَفاهُ مِنَ العَذَل

    Gray hair alarmed him when it came,

    and was admonition enough for him.

  2. وَاِنقَضَت مُدَّةُ الصِبا

    وَاِنقَضى اللَهوُ وَالغَزَل

    And the span of youth came to an end,

    and amusement and courtship came to an end.

  3. قَد لَعمري دَمَلتُهُ

    بِخَضابٍ فَما اِندَمَل

    Indeed, by my life, I treated it

    with dye, but it did not heal.

  4. فَاِبك لِلشَّيبِ إِذ بَدا

    لا عَلى الرَبعِ وَالطَلَل

    So weep for gray hair as it appears,

    not over the dwelling-place and the ruins.

  5. وَصَلَ اللَهُ لِلأَمي

    رِ عُرى المُلكِ فَاِتَّصَل

    May God bind for the emir

    the bonds of kingship, that it may hold together.

  6. مَلِكٌ عَزمُهُ الزَما

    نُ وَأَفَعالُهُ الدُوَل

    A king whose resolve is Time,

    and whose deeds are the turns of fortune.

  7. كِسرَوىٌّ بِمَجدِهِ

    يَضرُبُ الضارِبُ المَثَل

    Khosrow-like in his glory,

    the proverb-maker cites him as an example.

  8. وَإِلى طِلِّ عِزِّهِ

    يَلجَأُ الخائِفُ الوَجل

    And to the shade of his might

    the frightened, trembling man takes refuge.

  9. كُلُّ خَلقٍ سِوى الإِما

    مِ للأَنعامِهِ خَوَل

    All creatures, save the imam,

    are servants to his bounty.

  10. لَيتَهُ حينَ جادَ لي

    بِالغِنى جادَ بِالقَفَل

    If only, when he was generous to me

    with wealth, he had also granted me a return home.