1. لقد أصبحت في سلطان ملكٍ

    مجيدٍ ليس يوصف بالنّعاس

    Indeed, you have come under the dominion of a king,

    Glorious, not described as drowsy,

  2. بدارٍ كم بنيت بها بناءً

    لتبقى والبناء بلا أساسِ

    In an abode where you have built many a building,

    So that you may endure, though the building has no foundation.

  3. ولمَّا أن رأيتك غير دانٍ

    وخفت من القطيعة والتناسي

    And when I saw that you were not near,

    And feared estrangement and deliberate forgetfulness,

  4. بعثت إليك من كتبي ولاءً

    كعدَّة ما أقام أبو نواسِ

    I sent you writings of mine in succession,

    As many as the days Abu Nuwas stayed.

  5. وقالوا بات يعنى بابن يحيى

    فعجّل نحوه بأبي فراسِ

    And they said, “He spent the night attending to Ibn Yahya,”

    So hurry Abu Firas to him.

  6. فما خيلٌ تقيم ولسن خيلا

    بناسٍ في الحقيقة غير ناسِ

    Then what horses dwell, though they are not horses,

    Among people who, in truth, are not people?

  7. وما أثنى لها نسبٌ قريبٌ

    لها حملٌ وليس بذي نفاسِ

    And what female has a close kinship,

    Bearing a burden that involves no childbed bleeding?

  8. وما اسمٌ في القتال به حياةٌ

    ويوجد صورةً في كل راسِ

    And what name gives life in battle,

    And is found as an image in every head?

  9. وما لماءُ تبرز كل وقتٍ

    إذا ما لم تخف واشي العطاس

    And what dark-lipped woman appears at all times,

    If she does not fear sneezing’s telltale?

  10. وما رانٍ وليس عليه حدٌّ

    وما خمرٌ تحلُّ لكل حاسي

    And what gazer is subject to no prescribed penalty?

    And what wine is lawful for every sipper?

  11. فنصَّ وقسْ تصب معنى مقالي

    فإنَّ النصَّ يشفع بالقياس

    So state plainly and reason by analogy: you will grasp the meaning of my words,

    For the explicit text is paired with analogy.