1. يا فاضلاً قد عنى لرتبته

    جالب درّ الثنا وناظمه

    O worthy man, before whose rank has bowed

    the bringer and stringer of pearls of praise:

  2. ما اسم نحيف بال كأن على أحشائه صبوة تلازمه

    يبكي على الوصلِ وهو واجده

    What is the name of a slender, worn thing, as though yearning clings to its entrails,

    that weeps for union even while possessing it,

  3. وليسَ يبكيهِ وهو عادمه

    قل فيه ما شئت إن حذفت وإن

    yet does not weep for it while lacking it?

    Say of it what you will, whether you delete or

  4. حرَّفت يا من لسنا نقاومه

    alter, O you whom we cannot rival.