كَأَنَّني راكِبُ اللُجَّ الَّذي عَصَفَت

رِياحُهُ فَهوَ في هَولٍ وَتَمويجِ

As if I were riding the waves, whipped up

By gales, amid turmoil and swelling,

وَفي طِباعِكَ زَيغٌ وَالهِلالُ عَلى

سُمُوِّهِ حِلفُ تَقويسٍ وَتَعويجِ

While in your nature is fickleness, and the crescent

At its zenith is a covenant of curvature and twisting.

فَزِن مِنَ الوَزنِ لَفظاً حينَ تُرسِلُه

وَزِن مِنَ الزَينِ إِعطاءً بِتَرويجِ

So weigh a word for its sound when you utter it,

And weigh a gift for its beauty when you proffer it,

وَاِنظُر إِلى نَفسِكَ اللَومى بِمَنظَرِها

وَلَو غَدَوتَ أَخا مُلكٍ وَتَتويجِ

And look into your own blamable soul,

Even if you were to be the brother of a sovereign with a crown.

وَاِطلُب لِبِنتِكَ زَوجاً كَي يُراعيها

وَخَوِّفِ اِبنَكَ مِن نَسلٍ وَتَزويجِ

And seek for your daughter a husband who will cherish her,

And frighten your son about having offspring and marriage.

ما اليَسرُ كَالعُدمِ في الأَحكامِ بَل شَحَطَت

حالُ المَياسيرِ عَن حالِ المَحاوِجِ

Prosperity is not the same as destitution in judgments; no,

The state of the well-off has diverged from the state of the needy.