مُنى صِلِّ حَربٍ نالَها بِالمَناصِلِ

فَواصِل وَقاطِع بِالرِقاقِ الفَواصِلِ

The war he obtained with blades

So join and sever with the delicate joints

سَقَينَكَ مِن ماءِ المَفاصِلِ مُروِياً

وَزايَلنَ في الهَيجاءِ بَينَ المَفاصِلِ

I quenched you with the water of joints refreshed

And we conversed privately between the joints

مَنَنتَ عَلى أَبنائِكَ النَزرَ آسِفاً

فَأَنتَ عَلَيهِم كَالأَلَدِّ المُفاصِلِ

You were gracious to your few children grieving

So you are to them as the flexible joints

وَلَم تَسعَ فيهِم لَيلَةً سَعيَ مُتعِبٍ

إِلى أَن يُبينَ الصُبحُ شَيبَةَ ناصِلِ

And you never spent a night in exhaustive effort among them

Until dawn shows the greying of the separator

أَلَم تَرَ زُغباً أَدلَجَت أُمَّهاتُها

فَأَلقَت لَها ما حَصَّلَت في الحَواصِلِ

Did you not see the owlets whose mothers

Cast them what they had gained in the joints

غَدَت شَجَراتٌ في السَماءِ سَوامِقاً

عَناصِرُها في الضَعفِ مِثلُ العَناصِل

Trees in the sky grew lofty

Their elements in weakness like the joints