أُؤَدّي إِلَيكُم مِن ضَميري رِسالَةً

مِنَ الوُدِّ لا أَبغي لَدَيكُم بِها أَجرا

I convey to you from my conscience a message

Of affection, I do not want any reward from you for it

وإِن تَسمَعوها خَلوَةً فَشِكايَةٌ

وَإِن تَسمَعوها في المَلا فَاِسمَعوا الشُكرا

And if you hear it in private it is a lament

And if you hear it publicly then listen with gratitude

يَقولونَ إِنَّ الصَبرَ صَفقَةُ رابِحٍ

فَقُلتُ وَلَكِنّي خَسِرتُ بِها العُمرا

They say that patience is a profitable trade

So I said but I have lost my lifetime in it

وَغَيرَ أَنَّ مِنّي وَهوَ رِجسٌ مُكَذِّبٌ

لِكُلِّ نَبِيٍّ وَهوَ ما عُلِّمَ الشِعرا

And another thing from me which is an impure lie

To every prophet, and it is what poetry has been taught

وَقامَ فُلانٌ في المَلا بِقَصيدَةٍ

بِهِ قَعَدَت إِذ باتَ يُقعِدُها كَسرا

So and so stood in public with a poem

With it he sat down when he went on declaiming it as a poem

وَقُل اِقبَلوها وَهيَ ضَيفٌ وَلَو سَرَت

إِلى حائِمِ الطائِيُّ حَرَّمَ أَن تُقرى

And say accept it even if she went

To the sanctuary the Tayy did not allow it to be recited

وَفي الناسِ مَن أَشعارُهُم كَأَجِنَّةٍ

تَبَوَّأُ مِن طِرسِ المَسَوِّدَةِ القَبرا

And among the people are those whose poems are like jinn

Who take residence in the blackened graves

فَقُل إِن تَقُل قَد جِئتُ مِن أَرضِ بابِلٍ

صَدَقتَ وَلَكِن لَم تُعَلَّم بِها السِحرا

So say if you say I have come from the land of Babylon

You spoke the truth but you were not taught magic in it

أَقولُ لِبَغدادٍ إِذا ما نَصَحتُهُم

نَصَحتُكِ يا بَغدادُ لا تَشتُمي مِصرا

I say to Baghdad when I advise them

I advise you O Baghdad do not insult Egypt

يَرى الناسُ في بَغدادَ لِلسِحرِ آيَةً

وَفي مِصرَ موساها وَآيَتُهُ الكُبرى

People see in Baghdad a sign for magic

And in Egypt its Moses and its greatest sign

دَعوا المَلَكَينِ المُهبَطَينِ عُقوبَةً

فَإِنَّ كَليمَ اللَهِ أَورَثَها الفَخرا

Leave the two angels brought down as punishment

For the Kalim (Friend) of God inherited it pride