1. يا ابنَ الكِرامِ المُطعِمينَ إِذا شَتَوا

    في كُلِّ مَخمصَةٍ وَثَلجٍ خاشِفِ

    O son of the noble, who feed others when winter comes,

    Amid every famine and crunching snow,

  2. العاصِمينَ إِذا النُفوسُ تَطايَرَت

    بَينَ الصَوارِمِ وَالوَشيجِ الراعِفِ

    Who protect others when souls take flight

    Between keen swords and blood-dripping spears.

  3. مَن نَبَّأَ الوَرقاءَ أَنَّ مَحَلكُم

    حَرمٌ وَأَنَّكَ مَلجَأٌ لِلخائِفِ

    Who told the gray dove that your abode

    Is a sanctuary, and that you are a refuge for the fearful?

  4. وَفَدَت عَلَيكَ وَقَد تَدانى حَتفُها

    فَحَيوتها بِبَقائِها المُستَأنفِ

    She came to you with her death already drawing near,

    So you granted her a fresh lease of life.

  5. وَلَو انَّها تُحبى بِمالٍ لانثَنَت

    مِن راحَتَيكَ بِنائِلٍ مُتَضاعفِ

    And were she to be given wealth, she would return

    From your two palms bearing a manyfold bounty.

  6. جاءَت سُلَيمانَ الزَمانِ بِشَكوِها

    وَالمَوتُ يُلمَعُ مِن جَناحي خاطِفِ

    She came to the Solomon of the age with her complaint,

    With death flashing from the two wings of a swooping predator—

  7. قَرِمٌ لَواهُ القوتُ حَتّى ظِلُّهُ

    بِإِزائِهِ يَجري بِقَلبٍ واجِفِ

    Ravenous, tormented by the need for food, so that even his shadow

    Runs beside him with a trembling heart.