شكراً لأقلامك اللاتي جرتْ لمدى

شكراً لأقلامك اللاتي جرتْ لمدى

في الفضلِ أضحى لباغي شأوه التَّعَبا

في الفضلِ أضحى لباغي شأوه التَّعَبا

Thanks to your pens, which raced to such a height

Thanks to your pens that have flowed for so long

of excellence that it became sheer toil for anyone seeking to match it.

In virtue, the oppressor’s prominence has faded

حلَت وأطربتِ المُصغِي وحزتُ بها

حلَت وأطربتِ المُصغِي وحزتُ بها

فضل السباق فسماها الورى قصبا

فضل السباق فسماها الورى قصبا

They were sweet and delighted the listener, and through them I won

You have delighted the listener and saddened with them

the distinction of winning the race, so people called them reeds.

The merit of precedence, so the world called it a reed