أَيا سَيِّدا نالَ أعلى الرُّتَبْ

وحاز الكمالَ بأَوْفَى سَبَبْ

O master who has attained the highest ranks

And achieved perfection in the best way

أَمالكَ في الراىِ رأىٌ فإنَّ

له صفةً أَوْجَبتْ أن يُحَبّْ

Your opinion on this matter is sound, so

It has a quality that necessitates that it be loved

تَربَّى مع النيلِ حتى رَبا

وصار من الشَّحْم ضخما خِدَبّْ

It was raised with the Nile until it grew

And became enormously fat

ولا حِسَّ للعظمِ في جسمِه

فليس على الضِّرْس منه تَعَب

It feels no hardness in its body

So its teeth do not suffer wear

يذوب كما ذاب شحمُ الكُلَى

إذا الْجَمْرُ قارَبَه أو قَرُب

It melts like the kidney fat

When embers come near or draw close

يَروقك نيئاً وفي قَلْيِه

فتُبصِرُ من حالتَيْه العَجَبْ

You will enjoy it uncooked, and when cooked

You will behold its two states with wonder

نُصولُ السكاكينِ مصقولةٌ

وفي القَلْى تَمْوِيهُها بالذهب

The blades of knives are polished

And their glimmer is hidden in the cooking

كأن اللُّجينَ الذي قد عَلا

وذاك النُّضارَ الذي في الذَّنَب

It is as if the smoothness that has risen

And that tenderness that is in the tail

لَفائفُ قطْنٍ لِطافٌ وقد

تَبدَّى بأَطرافِهن اللَّهَب

Are rolls of delicate cotton that

Show their fringed edges aflame

فيا حُسْنَه وهْو بين الشِّباك

وقد ظلَّ مشتِبكا يضطربْ

Oh, its beauty as it lies between the grates

Remaining entangled and writhing

كزُرْقِ الأَسَّنِة بين الدروعِ

تَميل بهنّ العوالى السُّلُب

Like the gleam of spearheads amid coats of mail

Swaying the towering knight’s arms

فبادِرْ فنحنُ بشطِّ الخليِج

على روضةٍ رَقَّمَتْها السُّحُب

So take the initiative, for we are on the shore of the gulf

In a meadow dotted by clouds

على حالةٍ نامَ عنها الهلالُ

فإنْ لم تكن حاضِرا لم تَطِب

In a state where the crescent has set

For if you are not present, it will not be pleasant