فاضَت قَريحَتُهُ فيما لَهُ وُزِنَت

فاضَت قَريحَتُهُ فيما لَهُ وُزِنَت

فَما عَرَفناهُ لا نَظماً وَلا نَثرا

فَما عَرَفناهُ لا نَظماً وَلا نَثرا

His poetic gift overflowed in what had been metered for him;

yet we knew it as neither verse nor prose.

فَسَدَّها حينَما قَد ظَنّها خُرِقَت

فَسَدَّها حينَما قَد ظَنّها خُرِقَت

بِبَلعهِ الشَّعْر حتّى قاءَهُ شِعرا

بِبَلعهِ الشَّعْر حتّى قاءَهُ شِعرا

So he plugged it up when he thought it had been pierced,

by swallowing poetry until he vomited it out as verse.