ليَ إِلْفٌ حمانيَ الألاَّفا

منصفٌ لا يُجاوِزُ الإنصافا

A thousand melodies captivate me,

A just one, not exceeding justice.

لم يسمُّوه لا الهلال ولا البد

رَ وسَمَّوْهُ حين سَمَّوْا جُزَافا

Neither the crescent nor the full moon named him,

Yet they named him when naming the excellent.

منحوهُ الإِكليلَ والجديَ والجو

زاءَ لم يمنحوه فاءً وقافا

They gave him the wreath, the river, and the atmosphere

As a reward they did not give vainly or emptily.

لو تراهُ بالأمس يُنشِدُ بيتاً

كان شهداً بل كان سَمّاً ذعافا

If you saw him yesterday reciting a verse,

It was as honey, or even as pure wine.

يا أبا بكرٍ المعافى من الهج

ر وما المبتلى به كالمعافى

Oh Abu Bakr, safe from vitriol,

While the afflicted is not like the safe one.

لتنزَّهْتَ بين أصناف زهرٍ

جاورتْ في رياضها الأصنافا

You would have walked purely among the flowers,

Whose gardens neighbor all kinds of flowers.

دُرُّ شعرٍ يفيضُ من دُرِّ ثغرٍ

لا ترى بين ذا وذاك خِلافا

Poetry pearls overflowing from smiling lips -

You see no difference between this and that.