عجبوا لعلمي كيف أكْتُمهُ

والشِّعْرُ عني سائرٌ يسْري

They marveled at my learning—how I conceal it,

while my poetry ranges abroad, coursing on.

فأجبْتُهمْ لم أخْفِهِ عَبَثاً

لكنْ لمَعْنىً غامِضِ السِّرِّ

I answered them: I did not hide it idly,

but for a purpose whose secret lies obscure.

أجْمَمْتُ عِلم الدين عن طل

ب الدنيا حِذارَ تضاعُفِ الوِزْرِ

I kept religious learning apart from seek—

—ing worldly gain, lest the burden of sin multiply.

ورأيتُها خُدَعاً مُزَخْرفةً

فطلبتُخت بزخارفِ الشِّعْرِ

I saw the world as gilded deceptions,

so I sought it with the embellishments of poetry.