كتابٌ كريم جاءَني بعد فَتْرَةٍ

تَقيَّد مِنْها خاطِرِي لفُتُورِهِ

A generous book came to me after a period

In which my mind was constrained by its torpor

وكبَّر طرفي حِين لاَح هِلاَلُه

وَبَادَرَ مِن طَعْم الكَرَى لفُطُورِهِ

And my eyes widened when its crescent appeared

And I broke my fast with the taste of misery

وولَّت همومي تَسْتَجِنُّ بليلةٍ

وجَاءَ سروري يَسْتَضِيءُ بِنُوره

And my worries faded for an evening

And my joy came to illuminate with its light

أتاه سروري حين آنَس نَارَه

فكان كَمُوسَى والكتَابُ كَطُوره

My joy came to it when its fire brought warmth

It was like Moses and the book like his Mount

وقبّلتُ منه طَيْفَ مَوْلىً أَحبُّه

سَرَى إِذ سَرَىَ في ليْلِ نقْسِ سُطُورِه

And I kissed from it the image of a beloved master

Who traveled by night in the break of writing

وما نزهت عيني على وشْي حبره

ولكنَّها قد نُزهَتْ في حبيره

And my eyes were not entertained by its ink

But they were entertained in its essence

فقد صِرْتُ عَبْدَ المُلْكِ مِنْ تَحْتِ سِرِّه

وإِلاَّ فَرَبّ المُلْكِ فَوْقَ سُرِيره

For I have become a servant of the King under his secret

Unless the Lord of the Kingdom is above his throne