أَبو الفَضلِ وَاِبنُ الفَضلِ أَنتَ وَتُربُهُ

فَغَيرُ بَديعٍ أَن يَكونَ لَكَ الفَضلُ

O Abu Fadl, and son of virtue, you raise him,

So it is unseemly for another to have virtue over you,

أَتَتني أَياديكَ الَّتي لا أَعدُها

لِكَثرَتِها لا كُفرَ عِندي وَلا جَهلُ

Your hands have come to me, which I cannot count,

Due to their abundance, neither ingratitude nor ignorance from me,

وَلَكِنَّني أُنبيكَ عَنها بِطُرفَةٍ

تَروقُكَ ما وافى لَها قَبلَها مِثلُ

But I inform you about them with a glance,

That delights you - what has met it before is not its equal,

أَتاني خَروفٌ ما شَكَكتُ بِأَنَّهُ

حَليفُ هَوىً قَد شَفَّهُ الهَجرُ وَالعَذلُ

A lamb came to me, I had no doubt,

That it was a confidant of love that estrangement and separation had rendered eloquent,

إِذا قامَ في شَمسِ الظَهيرَةِ خلتَهُ

خَيالاً سَرى في ظُلمَةٍ ما لَهُ ظِلُّ

When it stood in the sun at noon, I saw its form

Like a phantom that moved in darkness that had no shade,

فَناشَدتهُ ما تَشتَهي قالَ قَتَّةٌ

وَقاسَمتُهُ ما شَفَّهُ قالَ لي الأَكلُ

So I asked it, “What do you desire?” It said, “Some greens,”

And I asked it, “What has made you eloquent?” It said to me, “Hunger.”

فَأَحضَرتُها خَضراءَ مَجّاجَةَ الثَرى

مُسَلَّمَةً ما حَصَّ أَوراقَها الفَتلُ

So I brought it some green plants, glistening with dew,

Whole and untouched by the reaper,

فَظَلَّ يُراعيها بِعَينٍ ضَعيفَةٍ

وَيُنشِدُها وَالدَمعُ في الخَدِّ مُنهَلُّ

And it remained watching it with a feeble eye,

And reciting poetry to it while tears flowed down its cheek,

أَتَت وَحِياضُ المَوتِ بَيني وَبَينَها

وَجادَت بِوَصلٍ حينَ لا يَنفَعُ الوَصلُ

The possessions of death came between it and I,

And it bid farewell when farewell is of no avail.