1. أما ترى الرَيحانَ أوراقُهُ

    تلتفُّ تجعيداً ولا تَنبسِط

    Do you not see the basil—its leaves

    Curl into ringlets and do not spread flat?

  2. دقيقَةُ اللّماتِ في رُؤسها

    كأنَّهُ أسودُ جعدٌ قطط

    With fine locks upon their heads,

    As though it were a black man with tightly curled hair.

  3. وقد غدا تنويرُهُ جَوهَراً

    ففي الموامي والرُبى يُلتقَط

    And its bloom has now become a jewel,

    So it is gathered in the desert wastes and on the hills,

  4. حتّى اذا ما مَلّ مِن مكثِهِ

    في عُوده المُشرق فيه سَقط

    Until, when it tires of lingering

    On its gleaming stalk, it falls there,

  5. مكتشِفاً عن ثَمرٍ أسودٍ

    كأنّه من نفض حِبرٍ نُقِط

    Revealing black fruit,

    As though dotted with spattered ink.