وخَرْساءَ إِلّا زَمانَ الرَّبيعِ

وخَرْساءَ إِلّا زَمانَ الرَّبيعِ

فَفِي سَجْعِها طَرَبٌ للْخَلِيعِ

فَفِي سَجْعِها طَرَبٌ للْخَلِيعِ

And a mute one, save in the season of spring—

Silent except in springtime

For in her cooing is rapture for the libertine.

When in her twittering is a thrill for the debauched,

أتَتْ تَمْدَحُ النَّوْرَ فَوْقَ الغُصونِ

أتَتْ تَمْدَحُ النَّوْرَ فَوْقَ الغُصونِ

كَما يَشْكُرُ الحُرُّ حُسْنَ الصَّنيعِ

كَما يَشْكُرُ الحُرُّ حُسْنَ الصَّنيعِ

She came praising the blossoms above the boughs,

She came praising the light above the branches

As a noble man gives thanks for a kindly deed.

As the free praise the generosity of the noble,

تُقِيمُ لَهُ عُرُساً في الرِّيا

تُقِيمُ لَهُ عُرُساً في الرِّيا

ضِ عِنْدَ الغُروبِ وعِنْدَ الطُّلوعِ

ضِ عِنْدَ الغُروبِ وعِنْدَ الطُّلوعِ

She holds a wedding feast for it in the gar-

She holds a wedding for it in the meadows

dens, at sunset and at sunrise.

At sunset and at dawn,

تُغَنِّي مَديداً ومَهْما يُقَلْ

تُغَنِّي مَديداً ومَهْما يُقَلْ

لَها بَدِّلي وقَّعتْ في السَّريعِ

لَها بَدِّلي وقَّعتْ في السَّريعِ

She sings in long-drawn Madid, and whenever it is said

She sings lengthily though blamed

To her, 'Change,' she beats out swift Sariʿ.

Relentlessly she trills on heedlessly,

ومِنْ عَجَب أنَّ تَسْجِيعَها

ومِنْ عَجَب أنَّ تَسْجِيعَها

بَديعٌ ولم تَدْرِ سَجْعَ البَديعِ

بَديعٌ ولم تَدْرِ سَجْعَ البَديعِ

And it is a wonder that her rhyming

And wondrous that her prosody

Is exquisite, though she never knew al-Badiʿ’s rhymed prose.

Is excellent though she knows not poetry’s artistry.