الشَّعرُ للشُّعَرَاءِ مَغْنَمُ مَعْرَكٍ

كلُّ امرءٍ يَحْوِي بقَدْرِ نَشَاطِهِ

Poetry is the poet's war spoils

Each person contains as much as his vitality allows

فلذا انبساطُ الوُسْعِ في دينارِهِ

ولذا انقباضُ الضِّيقِ في قِيراطِهِ

Hence the breadth of ample means in his coins

And hence the tightness of scarcity in his carats

وخواطرُ الإِنسانِ ما خَطَرَتْ ففي اس

تعلائِهِ يَمْضِي أَو اسْتِحْطَاطِهِ

And a person's thoughts are what occurred in either

His ascendance where he proceeds or decline

فَفَتًى يفِيحُ الخُرْءُ من وَجْعَائِهِ

وفتًى يذيعُ المِسْكُ من أَسْفَاطِهِ

So a lad whose anus oozes with pus from his pains

And a lad whose clothes emit musk from his wraps

وأَرى فَتَى السَّقَطِيِّ نظَّمَ شِعْرَهُ

ممّا اجتباهُ أَبوهُ من أَسقَاطِهِ

And I see the son of Saqati versified his poetry

From what his father selected from his rags

وإِذا أَبو جُعْرَانَ جاءَ بشعرِهِ

من بَعْرِهِ فاعذِرْهُ في إِفْرَاطِهِ

And when Abu Ju'ran comes with his poetry

From his camel hide, excuse him for his excess

أَوصافُ مجدِكَ وَرْدَةٌ يَرْدَى بها

فلذاكَ نَكَّبَ دونها بِنِياطِه

Descriptions of your glory are a bouquet by which

He has thus turned away from his mat

انظُرْ لعوَّاضٍ ومعنى اسْمِهِ

واستعملِ الفكرةَ تَعْرفْهُ

Look to Awad and the meaning of his name

And use your intellect, you will know him

وكلَّما أَنشدَ من شعرِهِ

فاكتبه بالطَّاءِ وَصحِّفْه

And whenever he recites his poetry

Write it with a ta and make errors in it