قَرَأْتُ دِيوَانَكَ لاَ أَنْثَنِي

عَنْ مُونِقٍ إِلاَّ إِلى مُوِنقِ

I read your poetry collection, not turning

Away from a verse except to another verse

كَأَنَّنِي فِي رَوْضَةٍ تَزْدَهِي

بِالمُزْهِرِ الغضِّ وَبِالمُوْرِقِ

As if I were in a garden bursting

With fresh blossoms and flowers bright

أَمُعْرِضٌ أَنْتَ عَنْ الشِّعْرِ يَا

مَنْ شِعْرُه هَذَا فَمَا تَتَّقِي

Are you averse to poetry, O you

Whose poetry this is—how can you avoid it?

هَلْ فِي تَوَخِّي غَايَةٍ بَعْدَهُ

مِنْ مُرْتَقىً يَبْلُغُهُ المُرْتَقِي

Is there after attainment of an aim

A higher ascent the climber can attain?

لَعَلَّ تِيهاً مِنكَ أَبْدَيْتُهُ

مُجْتَرِئاً فِي صُورةِ المُشْفِقِ

Perhaps out of you I revealed something

Rashly in the guise of the anxious

أَمَّا الَّذِي دَبَّجْتَهُ مُرْسَلاً

مِنَ الطِّرَازِ الوَاضِحِ الرَّوْنَقِ

As for what you fashioned fluently

In polished, lucid style and elegance

فِي نَثْرِكَ الفَنِّيِّ وهْوَ الَّذِي

لاَ يُلْحَقُ اليَوْمَ وَلَمْ يُسْبَقِ

In your artistic prose—that which

Is unmatched today or in times past

بِكُلِّ مَعْنىً بَارِعٍ بَاهِرٍ

وَكلِّ لَفْظٍ نَاصِعٍ مُشْرِقِ

With every ingenious, splendid meaning

And every eloquent, shining word

أَطْلِقَ وَالإِحْسَانُ قَيْدٌ لَهُ

أَعْجِبْ بِهِ مِنْ قَيِّدٍ مُطْلَقِ

It flowed freely, for kindness constrains it

Marvel at it from one freed, not constrained

تَجْلُو خَبَايَا الْعِلْمِ فِي حِقْبَةٍ

سَبِيلُهَا شَقَّتْ فَلَمْ تُطْرَقِ

The mysteries of knowledge unfold in a time

Whose path was cleared and left no track

مُسْتَكْشِفاً مُسْتَنْبِطاً آخِذاً

فِي الرَّيْبِ بِالأَثْبَتِ وَالأَوْثَقِ

Exploring, deducing, seizing

The certain and most assured in doubt

لاَ تَقْبَلُ الرَّأْيَ عَلَى عِلَّةٍ

تُبْرِزُهُ عَنْ حَيِّزِ المَنْطِقِ

You accept no view on mere whim

That removes it from the sphere of logic

بِلاَ افْتِئَاتٍ مِنْكَ أَوْ لُوثَةٍ

تُصَدِّقُ الزَّعْمَ وَلَمْ يَصْدُقِ

Without your testing or blemish

To verify the claim though it’s not verified

فَذَاكَ يَا مَنْ يَعْرِضُ الدُرَّ مَا

حَيَّرْتَ فِيهِ مَطْمَعَ المُنْتَقِي

That, O you who brush off pearls, is what

Perplexed the seeker’s hopes for choice

سِفْرٌ أَعَادَ الذِّكْرَ أَدْرَاجَهُ

إِلى شَبَابِ اللُّغَةِ الرَّيِّقِ

A book brought memory’s steps back

To the prime of lucid language

أَحْدَثَ لِلْضَّادِ وَتَارِيخِهَا

فَتْحاً وَلَمْ يُبْقِ عَلَى مُغْلقِ

It opened new horizons for the letter dhad*

Leaving none of its history veiled