1. أهديت لي مولاي أضحيّة

    أرق من حالي ومن شعري

    You gave me, my lord, a sacrificial animal,

    Thinner than my fortunes and my verse.

  2. قيمتها للبيع ان سمتها

    تبلغ عشر العشر من عشر

    Its sale price, if you appraise it,

    Amounts to a tenth of a tenth of a tenth.

  3. اكولة تأكل في يومها

    أضعاف ما يؤكل في شهر

    A glutton, it eats in a single day

    Many times what is eaten in a month.

  4. تعد في الموتى اذا سقتها

    كأنها تمشي على الجمر

    It is counted among the dead when you drive it,

    As though it were walking on embers.

  5. تكاد ان تسقط منحورة

    من قبل ان تشعر بالنحر

    It nearly falls down slaughtered,

    Before it is even aware of the slaughter.

  6. تصلح ان تعمل مدفونة

    لكونها معظمة القدر

    It is fit to be prepared as a 'buried' dish,

    For it fills the pot with bones.

  7. مطية اجعلها لي اذا

    ما قمت يوم البعث من قبري

    I shall make it my mount when

    I rise from my grave on Resurrection Day.

  8. لكنني اخشى لضعف بها

    احملها وزرا على وظهري

    But I fear, because of its weakness,

    I shall carry it as a burden on my back,

  9. وبينهم اصبح اضحوكة

    بحملها في موقف الحشر

    And become a laughingstock among them,

    By carrying it at the place of the Gathering.

  10. فلو تراها فوق ظهري غدت

    وحرت ما اصنع في امري

    For if you saw it had ended up on my back,

    And I was at a loss what to do about my plight,

  11. لكنت تكفينيَ تكفينها

    واجرة الغاسل والمقري

    You would spare me the cost of shrouding it,

    And the fee of the corpse-washer and the Qur'an reciter.

  12. فابعث إلى العبد سواها وجد

    بالفضل منا واغتنم اجري

    So send your servant another, and be generous

    With bounty as a favor, and gain the reward for helping me.

  13. لا زلت فرد الدهر جم العطا

    تفوز بالحمد وبالشكر

    May you ever be peerless in your age, lavish in giving,

    Winning praise and gratitude,

  14. ما حرك العود نسيم الصبا

    وما عليه سجع القمري

    As long as the east wind's breeze stirs the bough,

    And as long as the turtledove coos upon it.