أَظرِف بِقِدرِكَ لَولا أَنَّها غَبَرَت

وَما تَطورُ بِها نارٌ وَلا رَسَمُ

How elegant is your pot, were it not covered in dust,

With no fire hovering round it, nor any trace of use.

تاهَت عَلى غَيرِها أَن أُذنُها سَلِمَت

وَما تَعاوَرَها في مَطبَخٍ خَدَمُ

It acts haughtily towards others that its handle remains intact,

And that no servants have passed it hand-to-hand in a kitchen.

تُضيءُ سِكّينُها في كُلِّ نائِبَةٍ

إِذا تَدَنَّسَتِ السِكّينُ وَالبُرُمُ

Its knife gleams brightly in every calamity,

Even when other knives and stone pots grow stained.

لَو أَنَّ عِرضَكَ ذا في طُهرِ قِدرِكَ ما

داناكَ في المَجدِ لا كَعبٌ وَلا هَرِمُ

If your honor possessed the same purity as your pot,

Neither Ka'b nor Harim could approach you in glory.