أَلا أَيُّها الإِبريقُ ما لَكَ وَالصَلف

فَما أَنتَ بَلّورٌ وَلا أَنتَ مِن صَدَف

Oh jug, why this vanity of yours?

You are neither crystal nor made of mother-of-pearl.

وَما أَنتَ إِلّا كَالأَباريقِ كُلِّها

تُرابٌ مَهينٌ قَد تَرَقّى إِلى خَزَف

You are nothing but like all other jugs,

Lowly dust that has ascended to become pottery.

أَرى لَكَ أَنفاً شامِخاً غَيرَ أَنَّهُ

تَلَفَّعَ أَثوابَ الغُبارِ وَما أَنِف

I see you possess a haughty nose, except that it

Is wrapped in robes of dust, yet feels no disdain.

وَمَسَّتهُ أَيدي الأَدنِياءِ فَما شَكا

وَمَصَّتهُ أَفواهُ الطَغامِ فَما وَجَف

The hands of the ignoble have touched it, yet it did not complain,

And the mouths of the rabble have sipped from it, yet it did not tremble.

وَفيكَ اِعتِزازٌ لَيسَ لِلديكِ مِثلَهُ

وَلَستَ بِذي ريشٍ تَضاعَفَ كَالزَغَف

You harbor a pride the likes of which even the rooster lacks,

Though you possess no feathers layered like chain mail.

وَلا لَكَ صَوتٌ مِثلَهُ يَصدَعُ الدُجى

وَتَهتِفُ فيهِ الذِكرَياتُ إِذا هَتَف

Nor do you have a voice like his that cracks the darkness,

In which memories cry out whenever he calls.

وَأَنصَتُّ أَستَوحيهِ شَيئاً يَقولُهُ

كَما يَسكُتُ الزُوّارُ في مَعرِضِ التُحَف

I listened closely, seeking to divine something it might say,

Just as visitors fall silent in a gallery of artifacts.

وَبَعدَ ثَوانٍ خِلتُ أَنّي سَمِعتُهُ

يُثَرثِرُ مِثلَ الشَيخِ أَدرَكَهُ الخَزَف

And after a few seconds, I imagined I heard it

Babbling like an elder overtaken by senility.

فَقالَ سَقَيتُ الناسَ قُلتُ لَهُ أَجَل

سَقَيتَهُم ماءَ السَحابِ الَّذي يَكَف

It said, "I have given drink to people." I replied, "Indeed,"

"You gave them the rainwater that drips from clouds,"

وَدَمعَ السَواقي وَالعُيونِ الَّذي جَرى

وَماءَ اليَنابيعِ الَّذي قَس صَفا وَشَف

"And the tears of the rivulets and springs that flowed,"

"And the water of fountains that was pure and clear."

فَقالَ لِيَذكُر فَضلِيَ الماءُ وَليُشِد

بِمَدحي أَلَم أَحمِلُهُ قُلتَ لَكَ الشَرَف

It said, "Let the water acknowledge my merit and sing my praise!"

"Did I not carry it?" I said, "The honor is yours,"

فَقالَ أَلَم أَحفَظهُهُ قُلتُ ظَلَمتَهُ

فَلَولاهُ لَم تُنقَل وَلَولاكَ ما وَقَف

It asked, "Did I not preserve it?" I said, "You have wronged it,"

"For without it, you would not be carried, and without you, it would not have been detained."