1. واليتَ ما أوْليتَ يا بحر الندى

    ووحقّ جودك ما رأيت كهذِهِ

    You have followed gift with gift, O sea of generosity.

    And by your generosity, I have never seen anything like this.

  2. فإذا يهز لها اللسان حُسامَه

    فصفاتُ فخرك قد قضت بنفاذِهِ

    So when the tongue brandishes its sword for it,

    then your glorious qualities have already decreed its piercing force.

  3. علّمتَ فرسان الكلام نظامَها

    كتعلم التلميذ من أستاذِهِ

    You taught the knights of speech how to compose it,

    as a pupil learns from his teacher.

  4. والبحر تمتار السحائب ماءه

    فتجوده من غيثها برذاذِهِ

    And the clouds draw their water from the sea,

    then shower it with their rain—a drizzle of its own water.