قولا لأهل زمان لا خلاق لهم

ضلوا عن الرشد من جهل بهم وعموا

Say to the people of an age with no virtues,

Who have strayed from righteousness in their ignorance and blindness,

أعطيتم المتنبى فوق منيته

فزوجوه برغمٍ أمهاتكم

You have raised al-Mutanabbi beyond what he deserves,

So marry him off to your mothers against their will.

لكن بغداد جاد الغيث ساكنها

نعالهم فى قفا السقاء تزدحم

But Baghdad, where the clouds pour down rain,

Has them - their shoes at the water-carrier's shoulder jostle.