ماذا ترى فيمن أتى يستنجدُ

وفؤاده ممّا به يتوقدُ

What do you see in one who came seeking help,

While his heart burns with that which consumes it?

حبِّ تَقسمهُ الغرامُ فجسمُه

دنف وأمّا طرفهُ فمنهد

Love divides him, so his body is thin,

Yet his gaze is fixed.

عَلِقَ الغرامُ به فأخفى جسمهُ

لولاهُ أنّ لما رأتهُ العوّد

Love has clung to him, so it hid his body,

If not for it, the bending boughs would not have seen him.

وهواكَ أشعل دمعه وفؤاده

ذا مطلقٌ أبداً وذاكَ مقيّدٌ

Your love ignited his tears and his heart,

One is free forever, the other confined.

كتم الهوى فوشت به أجفانهُ

وقد اشتفى مما به من يحسد

He concealed his love, so it leaked out through his eyelids,

And he was cured of those who envied him.

فلأنت بين ذوي الملاحة مفرد

وأنا وحقِّكَ في الصبابةِ مفردُ

So you are unique among the wise,

And I, by your right, am unique among the youth.

أسقمتَهُ ولأنتَ تعرف طبّه

هلاّ رحمت معذباً يتجلد

You made him sick, yet you know not his cure,

Why not show mercy to one who endures patiently?

بالفضل والعدل الزيارة والجفا

فعلى كلا الحالين فعلُكَ يحمدُ

With kindness and justice, visiting and avoiding,

In either case, your actions are praised.

فعلى عبيدك يا رشاتهِ ما تشا

وأحكم بما تهوى فأنتَ السيدُ

Do with your servants, O noble one, as you wish,

And judge as you desire, for you are the master.