1. وَصَفتَ لَنا وَلَم نَرَهُ سِلاحاً

    كَأَنَّكَ واصِفٌ وَقتَ النِزالِ

    You described weaponry to us, though we had not seen it,

    as though you were describing the moment of combat,

  2. وَأَنَّ البَيضَ صُفَّ عَلى دُروعٍ

    فَشَوَّقَ مَن رَآهُ إِلى القِتالِ

    and how helmets were arrayed upon coats of mail,

    so it made whoever saw it yearn for battle.

  3. فَلَو أَطفَأتَ نارَكَ تالَدَيهِ

    قَرَأتَ الخَطَّ في سودِ اللَيالي

    So, if you extinguished this fire of yours beside it,

    you could read writing on pitch-black nights.

  4. إِنِ اِستَحسَنتَ وَهوَ عَلى بِساطٍ

    فَأَحسَنُ ما يَكونُ عَلى الرِجالِ

    If you find it beautiful while it lies on a carpet,

    then it is at its finest when worn by men.

  5. وَإِنَّ بِها وَإِنَّ بِهِ لَنَقصاً

    وَأَنتَ لَها النِهايَةُ في الكَمالِ

    Yet in them, and in it, there is indeed a lack,

    and you are, for them, the height of perfection.

  6. وَلَو لَحَظَ الدُمُستُقُ جانِبَيهِ

    لَقَلَّبَ رَأيَهُ حالاً لِحالِ

    And if the Domestikos glanced at its two sides,

    he would change his mind from one course to another.