The present paper investigates the visual and verbal expressions of loyalty of citizens of Qatar and the United Arab Emirates to their regimes. It discusses the content and style of the praise poems, songs and advertisements that have been published for political and social occasions –including National Day celebrations– and in the context of entertainment programs like the popular television competition Sha‘ir al-Milyun. Particular attention is given to the body of vernacular praise poetry that is published in local Arabic-language newspapers and broadcast on television. A close reading of a selection of these nabati madihs explores the relation between ruler and ruled as articulated by citizens. This discussion is put in a double historical perspective. First, comparison is made with nabati madihs from the pre-nation state era for a discussion of the transformation of allegiance patterns in the Gulf states. Secondly, through a comparison with examples of the classical madih, the continuity of nabati poetry with the classical heritage is explored, while attention is given to the particularities of poetic practice in Gulf societies.