وخَرْساءَ إِلّا زَمانَ الرَّبيعِ

فَفِي سَجْعِها طَرَبٌ للْخَلِيعِ

Silent except in springtime

When in her twittering is a thrill for the debauched,

أتَتْ تَمْدَحُ النَّوْرَ فَوْقَ الغُصونِ

كَما يَشْكُرُ الحُرُّ حُسْنَ الصَّنيعِ

She came praising the light above the branches

As the free praise the generosity of the noble,

تُقِيمُ لَهُ عُرُساً في الرِّيا

ضِ عِنْدَ الغُروبِ وعِنْدَ الطُّلوعِ

She holds a wedding for it in the meadows

At sunset and at dawn,

تُغَنِّي مَديداً ومَهْما يُقَلْ

لَها بَدِّلي وقَّعتْ في السَّريعِ

She sings lengthily though blamed

Relentlessly she trills on heedlessly,

ومِنْ عَجَب أنَّ تَسْجِيعَها

بَديعٌ ولم تَدْرِ سَجْعَ البَديعِ

And wondrous that her prosody

Is excellent though she knows not poetry’s artistry.