يا من غدا مُشابهي في أدبي

يا من غدا مُشابهي في أدبي

قد رمت ان تُخرج تبرا من تراب

قد رمت ان تُخرج تبرا من تراب

O you who have come to resemble me in my literary art,

O you who became my peer in manners,

You have sought to extract gold from dust.

You wanted to extract perfume from dust.

فلا تقل أُفوقُه في أدب

فلا تقل أُفوقُه في أدب

ولا أساويه ولا لي اقتراب

ولا أساويه ولا لي اقتراب

So do not say, "I surpass him in literary art,"

Do not say I surpass him in manners,

Nor "I equal him," nor "I come close."

Nor that I equal him, nor that I even come close.

بلى عجزت عن معانيه فقل

بلى عجزت عن معانيه فقل

عجزتُ أن أكون مثل ذا الغراب

عجزتُ أن أكون مثل ذا الغراب

Rather, you have fallen short of his meanings, so say:

Rather, confess I fell short of his meanings, so say,

"I have failed to be like this Raven (al-Ghurab)."

I failed to become like that raven.