تَرَكتُ سَمينَ اللَحمِ يَبيَضُّ بَعضُهُ

وَيَحمَرُّ بَعضٌ خَلطَكَ الدُرَّ بِالتِبرِ

I left the fat meat, part of it gleaming white,

while part of it reddened—its mixture, pearls with unworked gold.

وَأَعرَضتُ عَن حَلواءَ شَقَّ فُنونُها

فَبيضٌ إِلى حُمرٍ وَحُمرٌ إِلى صُفرِ

And I turned away from sweetmeats whose varieties branched wide—

white leading into red, and red into yellow—

إِلى ثَردَةٍ رَقطاءَ قُطِّعَ فَوقَها

مُقَفَّعَةٌ خَضراءَ في وَرَقٍ خُضرِ

toward a mottled tharīda, over which had been chopped

a green muqaffaʿa amid green leaves.