ألست ترى الأوضاح في دهمة الدجى

ومنشؤها بالناظرين رفيقُ

Do you not see the lights in the darkness of night

Whose origin is in the beholders a friend

دخاناً سخامي الصفات شراره

بروق وعقد الربح فيه وثيق

Smoke of sublime qualities, its sparks

Lightning, and the knot of gain in it tight

وليلا كيوم الوصل أما رياضه

فزهر وأما مسكه ففتيق

And night like the day of union, as for its meadows

A flower, and as for its musk so potent

وبغداد بحر ساحلاه جواهر

ودجلة روض طرتاه شقيق

And Baghdad a sea, its coast gems

And the Tigris a garden, its banks basil

وقد صار ياقوتاً حصاها وعنبراً

ثراها وأمسى الماء وهو رحيق

And its pebbles have become ruby, and its soil amber

Its water musk while it flows