يا حسنَ كتَّاب الحساب وخلفَهم

غلمانُهم بدفاترٍ وتعابي

O you who excel at arithmetic and those who follow,

And their young assistants with ledgers and scribbles,

كم قد رجوتُ وفي حسابٍ مثلهم

فلقيته لكن بغيرِ حساب

How often have I hoped for calculations like theirs,

Yet found them, though without any reckoning.