بُروحي مَن أُسَمّيها بِسِتّي

بُروحي مَن أُسَمّيها بِسِتّي

فَتَنظُرُني النُحاةُ بِعَينِ مَقتِ

فَتَنظُرُني النُحاةُ بِعَينِ مَقتِ

My soul be ransom for her whom I call 'my lady'.

With my soul I name her my Sitti

So the grammarians regard me with an eye of scorn.

The grammarians look at me with contempt

يَرَونَ بِأَنَّني قَد قُلتُ لَحناً

يَرَونَ بِأَنَّني قَد قُلتُ لَحناً

وَكَيفَ وَإِنَّني لَزُهَيرُ وَقتي

وَكَيفَ وَإِنَّني لَزُهَيرُ وَقتي

They believe that I have spoken ungrammatically.

They see that I have uttered a grammatical mistake

And how could that be, when I am indeed the Zuhayr of my age?

Yet I am Zuheir in his prime

وَلكِن غادَةٌ مَلَكَت جِهاتي

وَلكِن غادَةٌ مَلَكَت جِهاتي

فَلا لَحنٌ إِذا ماقُلتُ سِتّي

فَلا لَحنٌ إِذا ماقُلتُ سِتّي

But a graceful maiden has taken possession of all my directions,

But Ghada has conquered my directions

So there is no grammatical error when I say 'my lady'—also 'my six [directions]'.

So it's no mistake when I say my Sitti