تَمَتَّعتُ مِن شِعرِكَ الباهِرِ

تَمَتَّعتُ مِن شِعرِكَ الباهِرِ

بِمُعلَمِ ديباجِهِ الناضِرِ

بِمُعلَمِ ديباجِهِ الناضِرِ

I took delight in your dazzling poetry,

I delighted in your radiant poetry

in its fresh, patterned brocade.

With its shining, embroidered teacher

وَنَزَّهتُ عَقلِيَ في رَوضَةٍ

وَنَزَّهتُ عَقلِيَ في رَوضَةٍ

عَلى زَهرِ أَلفاظِكَ الزاهِرِ

عَلى زَهرِ أَلفاظِكَ الزاهِرِ

And I took my mind for a stroll in a garden,

And I purified my mind in a garden

among the radiant blossoms of your words.

On the blossoming flower of your vivid words

فَإِن أَنتَ فاخَرتَ شِعري بِهِ

فَإِن أَنتَ فاخَرتَ شِعري بِهِ

فَلِمَ لا تُفاخِرُ بِالفاخِرِ

فَلِمَ لا تُفاخِرُ بِالفاخِرِ

So if you proudly rival my verse with it,

So if you prided my poetry against it

then why not boast of what is splendid?

Why don’t you pride yourself on the proud one?

فَتِه ما اِستَطَعتَ بِمَنظومِهِ

فَتِه ما اِستَطَعتَ بِمَنظومِهِ

فَما فيهِ بَيتٌ سِوى نادِرِ

فَما فيهِ بَيتٌ سِوى نادِرِ

So exult as much as you can in its verses,

Knit what you were able with his composition

for every couplet in it is a rarity.

In which there is no verse but only the rare

أَما وَمَلاحَةِ تَشبيهِهِ

أَما وَمَلاحَةِ تَشبيهِهِ

وَما فيهِ مِن مَثَلٍ سائِرِ

وَما فيهِ مِن مَثَلٍ سائِرِ

Now, by the charm of its similes,

As for the proficiency of its similes

and the widely circulating proverbs it contains,

And what it contains of current examples

لَقَد رَقَّ حَتّى تَوَهَّمتُهُ

لَقَد رَقَّ حَتّى تَوَهَّمتُهُ

نَسيماً بِعَقبِ نَدىً قاطِرِ

نَسيماً بِعَقبِ نَدىً قاطِرِ

truly, it grew so delicate that I imagined it

It has surely softened until I imagined it

a breeze in the wake of dripping dew.

A breeze after pouring rain

وَطَبعَكَ قَد فاتَ طَبعي فَإِن

وَطَبعَكَ قَد فاتَ طَبعي فَإِن

تَأَخَّرتُ عَنكَ فَكُن عاذِري

تَأَخَّرتُ عَنكَ فَكُن عاذِري

And your natural gift has outstripped mine; so if

And your composition has surpassed my composition, so if

I lag behind you, then excuse me.

I lagged behind you, then pardon me

فَما مِثلُ سابِقِهِ إِذ جَرى

فَما مِثلُ سابِقِهِ إِذ جَرى

يُؤَمِّلُ إِدراكَهُ خاطِري

يُؤَمِّلُ إِدراكَهُ خاطِري

For no one like the racer ahead of it, when he runs,

For none can equal the forerunner when he ran

does my mind hope to catch.

Hoping my mind would catch up to him