When I greet you, I hope for the same in return
But greetings won’t show what our true feelings are.
If I’d built you a palace, as you once deserved,
There’d be no excuse for the way you behaved.
Knowing you equalled the wealth of Baghdad,
Syria and all the land of Oman;
But today you aren’t worth a few cardamom pods
Thrown from a coffee pot onto the sand.
Another now fills up the space in my heart,
Has taken it over, and devours my brain.
If he asks for the universe and all it holds
If God wills it so, I will bring it to her.
Sultan bin Zayed bin Khalifa Al Nahyan
He was the father of the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sulan Al Nahyan, founder of the UAE. He ruled Abu Dhabi from 1922 to 1926 and was very knowleadgeable. He had the ability to resolve the disputes which had an impact on security in the region. He was known for his interest in poetry and his connection with various poets of his time. He died in 1926.