1. نفسي الفداءُ لمن إذا جرح الأسى

    قلبي أسَوْتُ به جروحَ إسائي

    My soul be ransom for him: when sorrow wounds

    My heart, through him I heal the wounds of my grief.

  2. كبدي وتاموري وجَنّة ناظري

    ومُؤَمَّلي في شدتي ورخائي

    My liver, my heart’s core, the garden of my sight,

    And my hope in hardship and ease.

  3. ربيتُهُ متوسِّماً في وجهه

    ما قبلُ فيَّ توسَّمتْ آبائي

    I raised him, discerning in his face

    What my forefathers had once discerned in me.

  4. ورزقته حَسَنَ القبول مهنِّئاً

    فيه عطاءُ الله ذي الألاءِ

    And I was granted him, warmly welcomed, bringing joy—

    In him was the gift of God, the Lord of blessings.

  5. وعمرت منه مجالسي ومسالكي

    وجمعت فيه مآربي وهوائي

    And through him I enlivened my gatherings and my paths,

    And in him I gathered my aims and desires.

  6. وغدوت معتلياً له من أمه

    وهي النجيبة وابْنَةُ النُّجباءِ

    And through his mother I gained him high standing,

    For she is noble, the daughter of the noble.

  7. فأظل أبهج في النهار بقربه

    وأُريه كيف تناقُلُ العلياءِ

    So all day I rejoice in his nearness,

    And show him how greatness is handed down.

  8. وأُزِيرُه العلماء يأخذ عنهم

    فَيَبُدَّ من يغدو إلى العلماء

    And I take him to visit scholars, to learn from them,

    So that he may surpass those who go to the scholars.

  9. وإذا أجن الليل بات مُسامري

    ومُحاورٍي وممثَّلاً بإزائي

    And when night falls, he spends it in talk with me,

    My partner in discourse, present before me.

  10. فَأبيتُ أُدنى مهجتي من مُهجتي

    وأضُمُّ أحشائي إلى أحشائي

    So I spend the night drawing my heart close to my heart,

    And clasping my entrails to my entrails.

  11. والمرء يفتن بابنه وبشِعره

    لكنّ هذا فتنةُ العُقلاءِ

    And a man is enchanted by his son and by his poetry,

    But this is an enchantment for the wise.