1. عسُرتْ علينا دعوةُ السَّمكِ

    أنَّى وَجودُك ضامنُ الدركِ

    A fish feast has proved hard for us to obtain—

    how so, when your generosity guarantees fulfillment?

  2. يا من أضاءَ شهابُ غرَّتِهِ

    فجلا ظلامَ الليل ذي الحلكِ

    O you whose brow's meteor shone

    and dispelled the darkness of the pitch-black night,

  3. اذكرْ هداكَ اللَّهُ موعِدنا

    ودعِ السكون له إلى الحرك

    remember—may God guide you—our appointment,

    and exchange inaction over it for action.

  4. واعلمْ وُقيتَ الجهلَ أنك في

    قصرٍ تليهِ مطارحُ السمكِ

    And know—may you be spared ignorance—that you are in

    a palace with fish-landing places beside it.

  5. والفضلُ من كفيك مشتركٌ

    لكنّ فضلك غيرُ مُشتركِ

    And the bounty from your two palms is shared,

    but your excellence is shared by none.

  6. وحريمُ مالكَ جِدُّ منتَهكٍ

    لكنَّ عِرضك غيرُ مُنتهكِ

    And the sanctuary of your wealth is utterly breached,

    but your honor remains inviolate.

  7. والعُرف تُسديه إلى لَسِنٍ

    خيرُ المتاعِ وأفضلُ التِّرَكِ

    And the favor you bestow on an eloquent man

    is the finest possession and the best of legacies.

  8. وثناءُ مثلي غيرُ مُطَّرحٍ

    وسؤالُ مثلِك غير مُتَّركِ

    And praise from one like me is not to be discarded,

    and asking one like you is not to be abandoned.

  9. وبناتُ دجلةَ في فنائكُمُ

    مأسورةٌ في كلِّ مُعتركِ

    And the daughters of the Tigris, in your courtyard,

    are held captive in every battleground.

  10. تُفرَى بأمثالِ الدروعِ وأح

    ياناً بمثلِ نوافذِ الشِّكك

    They are cut apart with things like coats of mail, and some-

    times with things like piercing weapons.

  11. بيضٌ كأمثال السبائك بل

    مشحونة بالشحم كالعُكك

    White as ingots—nay,

    packed with fat like butter-skins.

  12. تغني عن الزيات قاليَها

    وتُبخِّر الشاوين بالوَدَكِ

    They spare whoever fries them the need for an oil-seller,

    and wreathe the roasters in fumes of melted fat.

  13. حَسُنتْ مناظرُها وساعَدها

    طعمٌ كَحَلِّ معاقد التِّكَكِ

    Their looks are lovely, complemented by

    a taste like undoing the knots of trouser drawstrings.

  14. والنَّاقِهُ الغَرْثان يرقبها

    قلقُ الخواطرِ متعبُ الملكِ

    And the famished convalescent awaits them,

    restless in thought, wearing out the angel,

  15. مُتَسحِّباً منكم على كرمٍ

    يا آل بشر لا على حسكِ

    making bold demands of you, relying on generosity,

    O house of Bishr, not on rancor.

  16. والهازِباءُ هديَّةٌ ذهبتْ

    مذ جاوزت أُسْكُفَّةَ الحنكِ

    And the hāzibāʾ fish was a gift that vanished

    once it crossed the threshold of the palate.

  17. وافى فألقيناه في مِعدٍ

    لم نُلقهُ للنسلِ في بِرَكِ

    It arrived, and we cast it into stomachs;

    we did not cast it into ponds to breed.

  18. فمضى وأحوجَنا إلى خلفٍ

    من سيِّدٍ كالبدرِ في الفلك

    So it passed away and left us needing a replacement

    from a lord like the full moon in the firmament.

  19. وكذا المطاعمُ كلُّها جُعِلتْ

    مُسَكاً مجدَّدةً على مُسكِ

    And likewise, all foods were made

    sustenance renewed upon sustenance.

  20. هي خِلْعَةٌ ليست بباقيةٍ

    كالخزِّ والسمَّورِ والفنكِ

    They are a robe of honor that does not endure

    as silk-and-wool cloth, sable, and fennec fur do.

  21. هاتيك كالشيء المقيمِ لنا

    والزادُ كالمجتاز في السِّكَك

    Those are like something that stays with us,

    while provisions are like a passerby in the lanes.

  22. فليصطد الصيادُ حاجتنا

    تصطدْ مودَّتنا بلا شركِ

    So let the fisherman catch what we need:

    you will catch our affection without a snare.