1. فقدتُك يا ابن أبي طاهرٍ

    وأطعمت ثُكَلك من شاعرِ

    May I lose you, O son of Abu Tahir,

    and be made to taste the grief of losing you—poet that you are!

  2. فلستَ بسُخْنٍ ولا بارد

    وما بين ذيْن سوى الفاتر

    For you are neither hot nor cold,

    and between those two is nothing but the lukewarm.

  3. وأنت كذاك تُغثِّي النفو

    س تغْثيةَ الفاتر الخاثر

    And you likewise nauseate souls,

    as something lukewarm and thickened does.

  4. تذبذبَ فنّك بين الفنونِ

    فلا فنُّ باد ولا حاضر

    Your art has wavered among the arts,

    so it is neither a nomad's art nor a townsman's.

  5. رأيتك تَنبحني سادراً

    كفعلك بالقمر الباهر

    I saw you barking at me heedlessly,

    as you do at the dazzling moon.

  6. وما زال ذلك دأب الكلابِ

    وما ذاك للبدر بالضائر

    And that has always been the habit of dogs,

    and that does the full moon no harm.

  7. وإنّ قِسيِّي لموتورةٌ

    بكل أمين القُوى حادر

    And my bows are indeed strung

    with every stout, sound-stranded cord.

  8. وإنّ سهامي لمَبريةٌ

    كهمِّك من عُدة الثائرِ

    And my arrows are indeed sharpened,

    like your resolve, part of an avenger's armament.

  9. ولكن وقاك معراتِها

    تضاؤلُ قدرِك في الخاطر

    But what shielded you from their harm

    was your insignificance in my mind.

  10. فلا تخشَ من أسهمي قاصداً

    ولا تأمَنَّن من العائر

    So do not fear an aimed arrow of mine,

    but never feel safe from a stray one.