تَقولُ يا عَمَّتا كُفّي جَوانِبَهُ

وَيلي بُليتُ وَأَبلى جيدِيَ الشَعَرُ

You say, "My aunt, let his sides alone,

Alas for me! I have wasted and my hair has turned gray,

مِثلُ الأَساوِدِ قَد أَعيا مَواشِطَهُ

تَضِلُّ فيهِ مَداريها وَتَنكَسِرُ

Like lions exhausted by their play;

Their coils in it are bewildered and broken.

فَإِن نَشَرتَ عَلى عَمدٍ ذَوائِبَها

أَبصَرتَ مِنهُ فَتيتَ المِسكِ يَنتَشِرُ

But if you spread it deliberately,

You will see fragrance of musk scattered through it."