وقَنَانٍ زَوَاهِرٍ هُنَّ بالشّمْ

سِ مِنَ الشّمْسِ بالقَلائِدِ أَحْكَى

With jars of radiant pearls are they adorned

By necklaces more brilliant than the sun's rays

يَتَبَسّمْنَ قائِمَاتٍ صُفُوفاً

فإذا ما رَكَعْنَ قَهْقَهْنَ ضِحْكا

In rows stand smiling maidens fair of form

Who, bending low, break into peals of mirth

قُلْتُ خُذْها وعاطِنِيها سلافاً

ذَهَباً في الزّجَاجِ يُسْبَكُ سَبْكا

"Take them," I said, "and give me their ransom

Gold to be molten in glass and cast anew"