ما إن ذكرتُكمُ إلا بكيتُ دَماً

ما إن ذكرتُكمُ إلا بكيتُ دَماً

وما بكى كَبناتِ الثكل ناكلُها

وما بكى كَبناتِ الثكل ناكلُها

I never remembered you without weeping blood.

Whenever I mention you, I weep blood,

And no one who recoils from them has wept like the daughters of bereavement.

Not as those bereft of children weep when they lose them.

يا ناصح الودِّ هذا ما أمرتَ به

يا ناصح الودِّ هذا ما أمرتَ به

إنَّ الدليلَ على الخيرات فاعِلُها

إنَّ الدليلَ على الخيرات فاعِلُها

O you whose affection is sincere, this is what you bade me do.

O sincere friend, this is what you advised,

Indeed, the guide to good deeds is one who performs them.

Good deeds point to their doer.

خذها مُحَبَّرةً يلتذُّ سامعُها

خذها مُحَبَّرةً يلتذُّ سامعُها

ولا يملُّ من الإطناب قائلُها

ولا يملُّ من الإطناب قائلُها

Take it, finely embellished, a delight to its listener.

Take it written in ink, a joy to hear,

Nor does its reciter tire of speaking at length.

The speaker does not tire of prolixity.

نَصرُ بن أحمد أنشاها وقال لها

نَصرُ بن أحمد أنشاها وقال لها

كُوني فكانت ولم يعجزه عاملُها

كُوني فكانت ولم يعجزه عاملُها

Nasr ibn Ahmad composed it and said to it:

Nasr ibn Ahmad composed it and said to it:

"Be!" And it was; its maker did not defeat him.

"Be," and so it was, its maker was not confounded.