1. أهدَى من الثَّمَرِ الجَنِيِّ قُطوفا

    يبقى جَناها مَرْبَعاً ومَصِيفا

    He offered bunches of ripe fruit,

    Their fruit lasting through spring and summer.

  2. صُحُفٌ توهَّمتُ الرَّقيعَ رِقاعَها

    لمَّا توهَّمتُ النُّجومَ حُروفا

    Pages—I imagined the sky to be their sheets,

    When I imagined the stars as letters.

  3. كتبَتُ بأقلامٍ حَكينَ ذاوبلاً

    تَختالُ في أيدٍ حَكَينَ سُيوفا

    Written with pens that resembled slender spears,

    Strutting in hands that resembled swords.

  4. تجلو لنا بَعدَ الطَّريفِ تَليدَها

    وتزيدُنا فوقَ التَّليدِ طريفا

    They reveal to us their old treasures after the new,

    And add new treasures for us beyond the old.

  5. قامَت تَزُفُّ بناتِ غَرْبٍ أصبَحتْ

    كبناتِ عُربٍ قد خَزَمْنَ أُنوفا

    They arose to escort daughters of the West as brides, who became

    Like Arab maidens who had pierced noses.

  6. سَيَّارةٌ تَطوي البِلادَ مُقيمةً

    في هودَجٍ أرخَت عليهِ سُجوفا

    A wanderer, crossing lands while remaining

    In a howdah over which she has lowered curtains.

  7. آياتُ حقٍّ قد أتَتْ لمُحَمَّدٍ

    بشَهادةٍ لا تقبَلُ التَّحريفا

    Signs of truth have indeed come to Muhammad,

    With testimony admitting no distortion.

  8. لم يكفِهِ جَلَبُ النُّضارَ سبائكاً

    للنَّاسِ حتَّى صَاغَ منهُ شُنوفا

    It was not enough for him to bring pure gold in ingots

    To the people, until he fashioned earrings from it.