هذي رياض اثمرت

هذي رياض اثمرت

فكاهة كالرطب

فكاهة كالرطب

These gardens have borne fruit:

Are these gardens that have borne

wit, like fresh ripe dates;

humor like ripe dates,

أم حكم قد ركبت

أم حكم قد ركبت

في قالب من لعب

في قالب من لعب

or maxims fashioned

or maxims that have been fashioned

in a mold of play.

in a mold of play?

يكاد ان يرقص من

يكاد ان يرقص من

يسمعها من طرب

يسمعها من طرب

He all but dances, whoever

He nearly dances—the one who

hears them, out of sheer delight.

hears them, from sheer delight.

أم ذي ثمار فكر من

أم ذي ثمار فكر من

حاز فنون الأدب

حاز فنون الأدب

Or are these fruits of the mind of one

Or are these fruits of the thought of one who

who mastered the arts of letters?

has acquired the arts of letters?

اعني به ما رون من

اعني به ما رون من

ابدعها بالعربي

ابدعها بالعربي

By him I mean Maroun, who

By that I mean Maroun, who

composed them masterfully in Arabic.

created them in Arabic.

شكراً له من فاضل

شكراً له من فاضل

فاز بكل الارب

فاز بكل الارب

Thanks to him, from a man of worth

Thanks to him, a man of merit

who has attained every aspiration.

who has achieved every aim.

حق على نقاشها

حق على نقاشها

نقش بماء الذهب

نقش بماء الذهب

It is only right that their inscriber

It is incumbent upon their engraver

inscribe them in liquid gold.

to engrave them with liquid gold.