يا سيداً صرَّف عنِّي العنا

يا سيداً صرَّف عنِّي العنا

بفعله المعرب أو باسمه

بفعله المعرب أو باسمه

O master who turned affliction away from me

O master who turned hardship away from me,

by his eloquent deed—or by his very name.

Through his expressive deed or through his name:

شكراً لجودٍ لازم للثنا

شكراً لجودٍ لازم للثنا

كدوم روح المرء مع جسمه

كدوم روح المرء مع جسمه

Thanks for a generosity forever wedded to praise,

Thanks for a generosity inseparably bound to praise,

as a person's soul abides with his body.

As a man's soul abides with his body.

لولاه أصبحتُ فتىً شاعراً

لولاه أصبحتُ فتىً شاعراً

يبكي من الجودِ على رسمِه

يبكي من الجودِ على رسمِه

Without it, I would have become a young poet,

Without him, I would have become a young poet

weeping for generosity over its deserted trace.

Weeping over the traces of generosity.