قد يُدْرِكُ العاقلُ في عُسْرِهِ

ما يُعجز الجاهلَ في يُسْرِهِ

The wise can attain in hardship

What defeats the ignorant in ease

وكلُّ إِنسَانٍ على حَذْرِهِ

يُصيبُ أو يخطئ في أمره

And every person is on guard

Whether he hits or misses his goal

فالشكرُ للملهمنا شُكْرَه

على الذي ألْهَمَ من شُكْرِه

So thanks to the One who inspired us to thank Him

For what He inspired of thanks from us

ما ضاق باب النصر عن خائف

دعا أبا نصرٍ إلى نصره

The door of victory is not closed to one who fears

He called on the Helper of victory for His help

من كلِّ بحرٍ من بحَارِ النَّدى

يَغْرَقُ في القطرةِ من بحره

From every sea of the oceans of bounty

He drowns in the drop from His sea

يرى لسان اليسر في بدوه

مترجماً عنه وفي حضره

He sees the tongue of ease in its desolation

Translating from it and in its civilization

وَبشْرُهُ يضحكَ عن وجهه

ووجهُهُ يضحكُ عن بشره

Its good tidings laugh from its face

And its face laughs from its good tidings

طبْع العلى استُخرِجَ من طبعه

وبحرها استنبطَ من بحره

The nature of nobility was extracted from his nature

And its sea deduced from his sea

كأنّ نظمَ الدرِّ أو نثره

من نظمِهِ في الطِّرْسِ أو نثره

As if the prose of pearls or his poetry

Is from his prose in the prose or his poetry

سهلٌ إذا احتجَت إلى سَهْلِهِ

وعرٌ إذا احتجتَ إِلى وَعْرِه

Easy when you need its ease

And difficult when you need its difficulty

حلوٌ ومرٌّ فحياةُ الورى

في حُلْوِهِ والموتُ في مُرِّه

Sweet and bitter, so the life of creation

Is in its sweetness, and death in its bitterness

أُهدي له الشعرَ ومستحسنٌ

أن يُهْدِيَ الشاعرُ من شعره

Poetry was gifted to him, excellent

That the poet gift some of his poetry

وأَنتقي أَنْفَسَ ما يُنْتَقى

من لؤلؤِ المدحِ ومن درّه

And I chose the finest that could be chosen

Of the pearls of praise and its jewels

عساهُ أ يُذْكِرَهَ موعداً

تَشْغَلُهُ الأشغالُ عن ذكره

May He mention him at an appointed time

When occupations distract him from remembering