يا وزيراً قد أسبغَ الله ظِلّه

حينَ علّى على السِّماكِ مَحلّه

O minister, whom God has bestowed His shade

When He raised you to the highest position

لكَ وجهٌ فاقَ الهلالَ وكف

يخجلُ الغَيْثَ بالنّدى مستهلّه

You have a face that surpasses the crescent moon, and a palm

That makes the rain ashamed with its wetness when it begins

راحةٌ لم تزلْ إذا القَحْطُ أَودى

راحةً وهي للمُقَبِّلِ قُبْلَه

A comfort that if drought destroyed

It would still be a comfort, and to the kisser, his kiss

كانَ قد أُبهمَ التفضُّلُ في النا

سِ فأوضَحْتَ بالمكارِمِ سبلَه

Goodness in people was ambiguous

But you made its paths clear with your virtues

فَذَكرنا من حاتم بكَ معنىً

ونسينا أَيامَ كسرى وَعَدْلَه

So you reminded us of Hatim's meaning through yourself

And we forgot the days of Kisra and his justice

وسأنهي إليكَ أمراً عجيباً

فاستَمِعْ قِصتي سألتُك بالله

And I will end to you a wondrous matter

So listen to my story, I asked you in God's name

إنني قد تأخّرَ القمح عنّي

عاشِقٌ كُلَّ مخزنٍ فيه غَلّه

I have been late getting wheat

A lover seeking every storehouse with its harvest

إن سمعتُ الكيّالَ يشدو بذكرى

غَلّةٍ هاجَ في فؤادي غُلّه

If I heard the measurer singing the memory

Of a harvest, its harvest stirred feelings in my heart

وَمنايَ إذا أثارَ غباراً

أَغبراً لو كُحِلتُ منه بِكُحْلَه

And my sieve, if it raised dust

Dust that if I was lined with its kohl

ذابَ قلبُ الطاحونِ شوقاً وللقف

ةِ دمعٌ لها بذي أَلفُ غِسله

The heart of the mill melted in longing, and for the jug

It has a tear that has shed a thousand times

ورأيتُ الأطفالَ مِن عدمِ الخب

زِ تَلَظّى ولو على قرصِ جَلّه

And I saw the children, from lack of bread

Suffering, even if on a loaf of bread

تلك تشكو وتيكَ تدعو وهذي

تتجنى عليَّ وَهْيَ مُدلّه

One complains, and you it calls, this one

Resents me, and it is gentle

فَتراني مُلقى وَعِرسي تُنادي

قُم وعجّلْ فليس في الصَوتِ مهله

So you see me fallen, and my billy goat calls me

Get up and hurry, for there is no time in sound

وأَنتَ زوجُ الفراشِ لا عِشْتَ أَم أَن

تَ حكيمٌ كما يُقالُ بِوصلَه

And you are the mate of prosperity, have you lived or are you

A wise one, as they say in his connection

ما تُرينا قُرصاً سوى قرصِ شمس ال

أفقِ تبدو وَخُشكنانِ الأهِلَه

You do not show us a loaf except the loaf of the sun

On the horizon that appears and the hut of the family

عَنْتَرُ الحربِ لو يُطالَبُ مِثلي

بدِقيقٍ لَفَرّ مِن فَرْدِ حَمْلَه

If Antar of war were asked by one like me

For flour, he would flee from carrying his load