قُل لِزُهَيرٍ إِذا اِتَّكا وَشَدا

أَقلِل أَوِ اِكثِر فَأَنتَ مِهذارُ

Say to Zuhayr, when he reclines and sings:

Speak little or speak much, you are merely a babbler.

سُخِّنتَ مِن شِدَّةِ البُرودَةِ حَت

تى صِرتَ عِندي كَأَنَّكَ النارُ

You have been heated by the intensity of your coldness,

Until you have become, in my eyes, like fire.

لا يَعجَبِ السامِعونَ مِن صِفَتي

كَذَلِكَ الثَلجُ بارِدٌ حارُ

Let not the listeners marvel at my description,

For likewise is snow: cold, yet burning.