مَدَحتُ اِبنَ بَسّامٍ مَديحاً لَوَ اِنَّني

مَدَحتُ بِهِ صُمَّ الصَفا لَتَصَدَّعا

I praised Ibn Bassam with a praise that if

I had praised with it the deaf rock it would have cracked.

وَلَو أَنَّني أَدعو الوُحوشَ بِنَفثِهِ

أَنِسنَ وَلَو أَدعو بِهِ الجَدبَ أَمرَعا

And if I invoke with his breath the wild beasts,

they would befriend me, and if I invoke with it barrenness, it would become fertile.

بَعَثتُ إِلَيهِ أَربَعاً خِلتُ أَنَّني

بَعَثتُ بِها حُسناً كَواكِبَ أَربَعا

I sent him four verses, thinking that

I had sent with them beauty like four stars.

إِذا راحَ مِن دُنياهُ في حُسنِ مَنظَرٍ

رَآهُنَّ قَد أَحسَنَّ في الناسِ مَسمَعا

When he went from his abode in beauty of appearance,

they saw he had acted well with the people, hearing.

فَلَم يَجزِني قَولاً جَميلاً بِقَولِها

وَلا هُوَ مَنّاني وَلا هُوَ أَطمَعا

So he did not repay me with fine words for their words,

nor was he obliging to me nor made me covetous.

فَعادَت سَليباً عاطِلاً مِن حُلِيِّها

مُضَيَّعَةً بَل رَبُّها عادَ أَضيَعا

So they returned stripped of their jewels,

wasted! Nay, their Lord returned most wasted.

وَأَجدَبتُ لَمّا أَن حَلَلتُ جَنابَهُ

وَإِن كانَ شِرباً لِلعُفاةِ وَمَرتَعا

And I was barren when I removed his chin-strap,

though it was a drinking-place for the destitute and a pasturage.