بِعَيشِكَ هَل جُزيتَ عَنِ القَوافي

بِغَيرِ أَجَدتَ أَو لا فُضَّ فوكَ

With your livelihood, have you been rewarded for rhymes

By your life, have you ever been rewarded for your rhymes

Without striving, or was it fruitless for you?

With anything but 'You excelled!' or 'May your mouth be blessed'?

جَزاأُكَ مِن كَريمٍ أَو بَخيلٍ

رَقيقاً كانَ شِعرُكَ أَو رَكيكا

Your reward from a generous one or a miser

Your recompense from the generous and the miser alike—

Was your poetry delicate or coarse?

Whether your poetry be refined or feeble—

كَلامٌ لَيسَ يُغني عَنكَ شَيئاً

إِذا لَم يَقتُلِ الآمالَ فيكا

Words will not avail you anything

Is mere speech that avails you nothing,

If they do not kill hopes in you

If indeed it does not kill the hopes within you.

وَرُبَّتَما يَمُنُّ عَلَيكَ قَومٌ

كَأَنَّكَ قَد غَدَوتَ بِهِم مَليكا

And oftentimes a people may confer upon you

And oftentimes, people act as though bestowing a favor,

As though you have become their king

As if, through them, you had become a king.

إِذا أَرسَلتَ قافِيَةً شَروداً

فَقَد أَيقَظتَ في الناسِ الشُكوكا

When you send out a rhyme aimlessly

If you send forth a captivating verse that roams the world,

You have awakened suspicions in people

You have but awakened doubts among the people.

وَقَد تُبلى بِأَحمَقَ يَدعيها

فَإِن تَغضَب لِذَلِكَ يَدعيكا

It may be worn out by a fool claiming it

You may be afflicted by a fool who claims it as his own,

If you get angry at that, he will claim you

And should you grow angry at this, he accuses you instead.