1. يا من يذم خلائق النّمامِ

    ويحطُّهُ عن خطّه الاكرامِ

    O you who disparage the nammām’s qualities

    and lower it from its station of honor,

  2. فدك اتئد عن لومهِ جهلاً به

    فجمالُه زارٍ على اللُّوامِ

    So desist; hold back from blaming it in ignorance of it,

    for its beauty puts its reproachers to shame.

  3. هو أشهرُ الخيريّ حُسناً فاحبُهُ

    من بينهِ بتحيّةٍ وسلامِ

    It is the khayrī most renowned for beauty; so favor it

    among its kind, with a greeting and peace.

  4. متنزه عن أن يُرى مُستهتراً

    غلا إذا اكتحل الورى بمنامِ

    It is too dignified to be seen wanton;

    it grew precious when people lined their eyes with sleep.

  5. مستطرفٌ في خلقه مستظرفٌ

    في خُلقه مُستحسَنِ أَلالمامِ

    Novel in its form, charming

    in its character, pleasing to encounter.

  6. لم يرض إلا المِسكُ مَسكاً جِسمُهُ

    وبهِ يبوح إليكَ في الأظلامِ

    Its body would accept no skin but musk,

    and through it, it confides in you in the darkness.

  7. والمنتمي أبداً إليه قُصارُهُ

    في الفضل أن يُعى إلى النمّامِ

    And one forever claiming kinship with it can aspire at most,

    in excellence, to be ascribed to the nammām.

  8. إصفر من حسدٍ له وكآبةٍ

    لما شآهُ بحُسنه البسّامِ

    It turned yellow with envy of it and dejection,

    when the nammām surpassed it with its smiling beauty.

  9. أيُقاسُ مٌنفردٌ بظرفٍ مُعجز

    بمشاركٍ أخلاق نور

    Can one distinguished by inimitable grace be compared

    with one that shares the qualities of blossoms?

  10. لو كانت الشمس المنيرةُ سرمداً

    لم تُلقَ بالاجلال والاعظام

    If the shining sun were perpetual,

    it would not be greeted with reverence and veneration.