تَوَلّى سيبَوَيهِ وَجاشَ سَيبٌ

مِنَ الأَيّامِ فَاِختَلَّ الخَليلُ

Sībawayh turned away, and a cause of longing arose

From the days, so al-Khalīl was disturbed,

وَيونُسُ أَوحَشَت مِنهُ المَغاني

وَغَيرُ مُصابِهِ النَبَأُ الجَليلُ

And Yūnus—his songs were made desolate by it,

And for others not stricken the mighty news was hard to bear.

أَتَت عِلَلُ المَنونِ فَما بَكاهُم

مِنَ اللَفظِ الصَحيحُ وَلا العَليلُ

Illnesses of death came, but they did not weep for them

Either words that were sound or words that were infirm,

وَلَو أَنَّ الكَلامَ يُحِسُّ شَيئاً

لَكانَ لَهُ وَراءَهُمُ أَليلُ

And if speech felt anything,

There would have been for it beyond them a long weeping.

وَدَلَّتهُم إِلى حُفَرٍ أَيادٍ

لَنا بِوُرودِها وَضُحَ الدَليلُ

And hands pointed them to graves—

For us by their becoming green the proof was clear.