1. دار ما دار بيننا وتردَّد

    والهوى من حديثه يتردَّد

    What passed between us went round and recurred,

    and love echoes from his talk.

  2. وافترقنا ولم أنم وأنا أذ

    كرُ بعد السهاد ما يتجدَّد

    We parted; I did not sleep, while I

    recalled, after sleeplessness, what kept coming anew.

  3. فانتظِرني أقل وأنتَ مع النا

    سِ تراني كما أقولُ وتشهَد

    So wait for me to speak; while you are among the people,

    you see me as I say, and bear witness.

  4. وألدِّ الخصام أحوى أحم الط

    طَرفِ ألوى أغنَّ أهيف أغيَد

    And a fierce disputant, dusky, dark of

    gaze, headstrong, sweetly nasal-voiced, slender-waisted and supple,

  5. مر بي نافراً من الصيدِ إلا

    أنَّه في نفورِه يَتصيَّد

    passed me, shying from the hunt—except

    that, even in his shying away, he was hunting.

  6. بأبي أنت كيف صرت من الوح

    شِ نفاراً وأنت فينا مُولَّد

    My father be your ransom! How did you become one of the wild

    beasts in skittishness, though born and bred among us?

  7. نفعت صحبةُ الهوى بالتجاري

    بِ فسهلٌ على الفتى ما تعوَّد

    Love's companionship has proved useful through experience;

    so what a young man is used to comes easily.

  8. فاسقِني مثل ما سقاني بعَينَي

    هِ حَنيفيَّةً عن الشيخِ تُسنَد

    So pour me the like of what he poured me with his eyes:

    a Hanafi wine, transmitted on the shaykh's authority.

  9. بنت نارٍ أخذتها عنه بالنق

    لِ وقلَّدتُ شيخها ما تقلَّد

    A daughter of fire, which I took from him by

    transmission, and I charged its shaykh with what he had undertaken.

  10. وبهذا نصرتها حين ناظر

    تُ عليها المبارك بنَ محمَّد

    And thus I defended it when I

    debated over it with al-Mubarak ibn Muhammad.

  11. قلت بالرأي والقياسِ ولكن

    كان رأيُ القاضي السروجيِّ أحمَد

    I argued by opinion and analogy; but

    the view of the judge al-Saruji was more praiseworthy.

  12. وهو مما احتَسَبتُه من أيا

    ديهِ وعدَّدتها وكيفَ تُعدَّد

    And this is among his favors that I reckoned

    and counted—yet how can they be counted?

  13. طالما جاد لي وظنَّ بأن ال

    جودَ يَبلى مع الزمانِ فجدَّد

    How often he gave generously to me, thinking that

    generosity wears out with time, so he renewed it,

  14. بيمينٍ طالت وكم يضربُ ال

    أيامَ عني بها وكم يتجلَّد

    with a far-reaching right hand; how often he beats back the

    days from me with it, and how often he stands firm!

  15. أحسنَ الفعل بي فأحسنتُ قَولاً

    فاشتبَهنا فقيل جاد وجَوَّد

    He excelled in deeds toward me, so I excelled in speech;

    thus we seemed alike: they said, 'He gave generously; he composed finely.'

  16. وإذا اعتدَّ كل بانٍ من المج

    دِ على الناسِ بالقَصيرِ المعدَّد

    And when every builder of glory boasts

    before others of his short, countable works,

  17. ظلَّ يبني ولا يحدّ ارتفاعاً

    واتساعاً وكل بيتٍ يحدَّد

    he keeps building, with no limit to the height

    or breadth, while every house has its bounds.

  18. إن أنا قلتُ قلتُ ما يفسِد النا

    سَ أقاويلَهم إذا كان ينشَد

    If I speak, I utter what ruins people's

    sayings when it is recited.

  19. أبسطُ التيه والدليلُ قليلٌ

    في طريقي وربَّما ليسَ يُوجَد

    I display my pride; few are the guides

    along my path—and perhaps none can be found.