1. ناحلُ الجسمِ كَأَن قَد شَفَّهُ

    فَوقها عِشقُ المَعاني فَنَحل

    Slender of body, as though it had been worn thin,

    above it, by love of meanings, till it wasted away.

  2. وَكَأَن قَد هَجَرتهُ عَن قِلَىً

    فَهوَ مِنها في بُكاءٍ مُتَّصِل

    And as though they had forsaken it out of aversion,

    so, because of them, it weeps without cease.

  3. وَإِذا ما صَرَّ قُضبٌ في ثرىً

    أَنَّ في إثرِ حَبيبٍ مُحتَمِل

    And whenever branches creak in moist earth,

    it moans in the wake of a departing beloved.

  4. يُشبهُ السَّهم أَخاهُ خِلقَةً

    في شباهُ وَالقَضيبَ المُعتدِل

    It resembles the arrow, its brother in form,

    in its sharp point, and the straight rod.

  5. حائِكٌ لِلوَشي حَتَّى خِلتُهُ

    كانَ في صَنعاءَ مَشهورَ العَمَل

    A weaver of brocade, till I imagined it

    had been renowned for its craftsmanship in Sana'a.

  6. بَل كَأَنَّ الرَّوضَ في مُهرَقهِ

    نابِتٌ مِن دَمع فيهِ المنهطل

    Rather, the garden on its parchment seems

    to spring from its mouth's streaming tears.

  7. وَبلا الكتَّابُ ظلَّ الروض في

    إِثرِ طَلٍّ وَالمَعاني فيهِ طَل

    And the scribes have known the garden's shade in

    the wake of dew, and the meanings within it are dew.