1. قَد أَهبِطُ الرَودَةَ الزَهراءَ عارِيَةً

    سَدّى لَها الغَيثُ نسجاً فَالنَباتُ سَدِ

    I may alight in the radiant meadow as it lies bare;

    Rain has laid the warp of a fabric for it; the herbage is dewy.

  2. تُمسي لشَقائِقُ فيها وَهيَ قانِيَةٌ

    مِمّا سَقاها رُعافُ الجَديِ وَالأَسَدِ

    At evening the anemones within it are crimson,

    from the drink supplied by the nosebleeds of the Goat and the Lion.

  3. يَغنى بَنو المُلكِ إِن حَلّوا بِساحَتِها

    عَن الزَرابيّ وَالأَنماطِ وَالوَسُدِ

    Royal sons, if they lodge in its grounds, have no need

    of carpets, patterned coverlets, or cushions.

  4. لا حِسٌّ لِلجِسمِ بَعدَ الرَوحِ نَعلَمُهُ

    فَهَل تَحِسُّ إِذا بانَت عَنِ الجَسَدِ

    We know of no sensation in the body once the soul has gone;

    so does the soul feel when it has parted from the body?

  5. وَالطَبعُ يَهوي إِلى ما شانَ يَطلُبُهُ

    لَكِن يُجَرُّ إِلى ما زانَ بِالمَسَدِ

    And nature inclines toward what disgraces, pursuing it,

    but is dragged by a fiber rope toward what adorns.

  6. وَفي الغَرائِزِ أَخلاقٌ مُذَمَّمَةٌ

    فَهَل نُلامُ عَلى النَكراءِ وَالحَسَدِ

    And our instincts harbor blameworthy traits;

    so are we to be blamed for guile and envy?

  7. أَهَكَذا كانَ أَهلُ الأَرضِ قَبلَكُمُ

    أَم غَيَّروا بِسَجايا مِنهُمُ فُسُدِ

    Were the people of the earth like this before you,

    or did they bring change through corrupt dispositions of their own?