يا رَبَّةَ الصَمتِ أَنتِ آمِنَةٌ

إِذا هَفا ناطِقٌ مِنَ السَقطِ

O mistress of silence, you are safe

When a chattering man falls from grace

وَصلُكِ بِالنارِ وَالشِنارِ فَقَد

عِفناهُ إِذ قَطَّ شَعرَه فَقَطِ

To connect you with fire and sparks—he

Has rotted since he trimmed his hair in haste

إِنّا اِلتَقَطنا بِالخَرقِ طَيفَ كَرىً

بَل كانَ صَحبي لَهُ مِنَ اللُقَطِ

We picked up a glimpse of an old friend

Or so my companion thought in his haste

أَلطِف بِهِ زارَ آقِطَي رَهَجٍ

ما شَعَروا كَيفَ صَنعَةُ الأَقَطِ

Be gentle with him—he visited fields

Laid waste, not knowing the work of waste

لَو سارَ ذاكَ الخَيالُ في مَطَرٍ

لَم يَخشَ فيهِ مِن بَلَّةِ النُقَطِ

Had that specter walked in the rain

It would have feared no stain or waste

بِمَيِّتٍ غادَرَتهُ أَينُقُهُم

مِن وَطئِها مِثلَ حَيَّةِ الرَقَطِ

With a corpse they had forsaken—its finery

Like a serpent’s slithering pace

يُنبَهُ مُغفي فَلاتِهِ بِقَطاً

بَينَ أَيادي رَواحِلٍ بُقُطِ

To wake one sunk in his swoon

Cats before kneeling camels make haste