أَدِّي الرِّسَالَةَ يَا عُصْفُورَةَ الْواَدِي

وَبَاكِرِي الْحَيَّ مِنْ قَوْلِي بِإِنْشَادِ

Deliver the message, O bird of the valley

And hasten with my words in song

تَرَقَّبِي سِنَةَ الْحُرَّاسِ وانْطَلِقِي

بَيْنَ الْخَمَائِلِ مِنْ لُبْنَانَ وَارْتَادِي

Watch over the year of the guards and set forth

Among the thickets from Lebanon and wander

لَعَلَّ نَغْمَةَ وُدٍّ مِنْكِ شَائِقَةً

تَهُزُّ عِطْفَ شَكِيبٍ كَوْكَبِ النَّادِي

Perhaps a melody of affection from you, yearning

Will stir the compassion of Shakib, star of the assembly

هُوَ الْهُمامُ الَّذِي أَحْيَا بِمَنْطِقِهِ

آثَارَ قَوْمٍ أَجَادُوا النُّطْقَ بِالضَّادِ

He is the protector who revived with his speech

The traces of a people who excelled in speech with the emphatic d

تَلْقَي بِهِ أَحْنَفَ الأَخْلاقِ مُنْتَدِياً

وَفِي الْكَرِيهَةِ عَمْراً وَابْنَ شَدَّادِ

You will meet him, the most noble of manners, seeking

And in Kariba, Amr and the son of Shaddad

أَخِي وِدَاداً وَحَسْبِي أَنَّهُ نَسَبٌ

خَالِي الصَّحِيفَةِ مِنْ غِلٍّ وَأَحْقَادِ

A brother in affection and my pride that he is a lineage

Free of fraud and hatred in origin

أَفَادَنِي أَدَباً مِنْ مَنْطِقٍ شَهِدَتْ

بِفَضْلِهِ النَّاسُ مِنْ قَارٍ وَمِنْ بَادِي

He imparted to me the literature of eloquent speech

By whose merit people witnessed from settler and nomad

عَذْبِ الشَّرِيعَةِ لَوْ أَنَّ السَّحَابَ هَمَى

بِمِثْلِهِ لَمْ يَدَعْ في الأَرْضِ مِنْ صَادِي

Sweet of canon law - if only the clouds had intended

The like of it, it would not have left a watercourse on earth

سَرَتْ بِقَلْبِي مِنْهُ نَشْوَةٌ مَلَكَتْ

بِحُسْنِهَا مِسْمَعِي عَنْ نَغْمَةِ الشَّادِي

There crept into my heart from him an intoxication that

Captivated my hearing from the melody of the singer

يَا بْنَ الْكِرَامِ عَدَتْنِي عَنْكَ عَادِيَةٌ

كَادَتْ تَسُدُّ عَلَى عَيْنِي بِأَسْدَادِ

O son of the generous - an enmity turned me from you

That almost barred my eyes with barricades

فَاعْذِرْ أَخَاكَ فَلَوْلا ما بِهِ لَجَرَى

في حَلْبَةِ الشُّكْرِ جَرْيَ السَّابِقِ الْعَادِي

So excuse your brother - for had it not been for what transpired

In the arena of gratitude, the course of the excellent runner

وَهَاكَها تُحْفَةً مِنِّي وَإِنْ صَغُرَتْ

فَالدُرُّ وهْوَ صَغِيرٌ حَلْيُ أَجْيَادِ

And here it is, a gift from me, though small

For the pearl, though little, is the finery of the generous