اذا سلَّ سيف الرأي من غمد حزمه

غدا حاسديهِ ذابلٌ وحُسامُ

If the sword of opinion is unsheathed from the scabbard of his determination

His enviers become faded and swords become blunt

فيُسرفُ قتلاً والمُهنَّدُ مُغْمدٌ

ويوسعُ طرداً والجوادُ جَمامُ

It kills excessively while the polished remains sheathed

And it exiled abundantly while the generous remains restrained

ويُحرز من أقلامه ورماحهِ

عُلاهُ كلامٌ ناصِعٌ وكِلامُ

And it earns, from its pens and spears

Sublime words, lucid and explicit

وللنظم من فوق الصحائف أسطرٌ

وللنَّثْر من فوق التَّنائف هامُ

And prose, from atop pages, has lines

And poetry, from atop collections, has zeal

غمامٌ رعودٌ صادق الشيم حافلٌ

ولكنَّهُ عند الوعيد جَهامُ

A truthful-natured, glorious cloud, bursting with thunder

Yet with threats, fierce

يُصرِّفه الطفل الوليدُ لَطافةَ

ويعجزُ عنه الجيشُ وهو لُهامُ

The newborn child can wield it gently

Yet the army is helpless against it, though brave

فتى الخير يبني عنده الودَّ سالماً

من النَّقصِ الِمامٌ به وسَلامُ

The virtuous man builds, by it, peacefully

Despite the faults embedded in it, intact

وذو عَبقٍ ما زالَ ينطقُ عِطْفه

بادراك أقصى المجد وهو غُلامُ

One of lingering fragrance, his kindness still speaks

In realizing the peak of glory, though a boy

كما لاحَ برقٌ في مُتون غمامةٍ

فأصبحَ يُرجى صوبهُ ويُشامُ

As lightning flashed from the depths of a cloud

Becoming hoped for, in its direction, and sensed

وريَّانُ من فصْلٍ ولكن بنفسهِ

اليه واِنْ طال الورود هُيامُ

And two meadows, though of one season

To it, even if flowers last logs

بليغٌ اذا ما سَلَّ صارمَ حًجَّةٍ

وقد دام اِشكالٌ وطالَ خِصامُ

Eloquent, if a sharp argument is unsheathed

And a quarrel lingered and dispute prolonged

فدرعُ الذي يلقاهُ مُهلهل

وصارمهُ وهو الجُرازُ كهامُ

The coat of mail of whom faces it is pierced

And his blade, though a digits, is blunt

فلا برحتْ تاج الملوكِ سَعادةٌ

لها في ذراه موطنٌ ومَقامُ

So the crown of kings, Sa’da’s glory

In its branches, remains no home nor station