فانّي وَمَدحَكَ غَيرَ المُصي

فانّي وَمَدحَكَ غَيرَ المُصي

بِ كالكَلبِ يَنبَحُ ضَوءَ القَمَر

بِ كالكَلبِ يَنبَحُ ضَوءَ القَمَر

For I, with my praise of you missing the mark,

For I, in praising you, am no flatterer

am like a dog barking at the moonlight.

Like a dog barking at the moon's glow

مَدَحتُكَ أَرجو لَدَيكَ الثَوابَ

مَدَحتُكَ أَرجو لَدَيكَ الثَوابَ

فَكُنتُ كَعاصِرِ جَنبِ الحَجَر

فَكُنتُ كَعاصِرِ جَنبِ الحَجَر

I praised you, hoping for a reward from you;

In praising you I hope for reward from you

so I was like one squeezing the side of a stone.

Thus was I like one milking a barren goat