1. They ask, so I say: O people of reproach
Or is there anyone like you who does not know?

2. I am a poet, the land of Arabism is my homeland
And if I trace my origin, my blood and body respond

3. From the land of Egypt, if I seek comrades
They are redemption, and a balm for my eyes

4. They are fragrance, and yearning, and dew
Kinship with them is cherished and honored

5. How many messengers did it shelter for their safety
Moses, Joseph, Christ, and Mary

6. And through it for Abraham, grandfather of our Prophet
Lineage of kinship which cannot be severed

7. From the land of Tunisia, the Euphrates, and Sada
Look at their portraits which speak

8. And from the Gulf to Rabat is my fragrance
It grew and I have stakes in Algeria’s land

9. I am Jordanian from Damascus and Petra
The sword of Ibn Mukhtar in it does not blunt

10. From Mecca, cradle of the glorious ancestors
They laid the foundation, so their palace cannot crumble

11. From Yathrib, and the scent in its sides
It is fragrant with Ahmed, and the steps are engraved

12. I am a rebel, and Jerusalem testifies my birth
And the vineyards of Jaffa, the hills, and the stars

13. From Gaza, where the wolf once
Told a legend, which everyone knows

14. I am a poet who circled in the core of the sky
And to the heights I do not hope or tire

15. And if I descend, in descent are wonders
And the abyss I illuminate, even if it is ambiguous

16. And I dive in the sea of verse with determination
And gather the pearls from it, and string them

17. Each day how much nonsense is said
They call it poetry! And I am forced to be silent

18. And they promote rotten goods
And you see among the ignorant those who hum to it

19. While poetry laments what befell it, complaining
Of words that confuse the tongue and mystify

20. Poetry is taste, and meters are its beauty
Rhyme and meaning that can be understood

21. Poetry is the revelation of the discerning
Its words are morning breezes in hearts translated

22. I am a poet who spun letters with a spindle
And to me poetry is sealed with nectar

23. So when I see thorns wrap their roses
The thorns are a fence around a straight well

24. And if a bird laments for its lost beloved
I grieve for it, and lighten and have mercy

25. And I notice the flowers when dusk falls
Wakeful, and yearning for the moth, so it kisses

26. And the moon, if a cloud hides it, I do not see
A flaw in it, for tomorrow it will return and attack

27. And I see the streams, and the waters when they flow
Sing, exert themselves, and share

28. This is me, I clothed the barrenness of my letters
So it turned green, and insects crawled to it

29. No wonder if words follow my purposes
And submit wherever my arrow points to serve

30. For sometimes an infant suckles perception
That spares it milk, when it is weaned

31. Glory to Him who made speech for Ahmed
A chapter. So he interpreted what is penned and numbered