قيل لي لِمَ تَرَكت نَظم القَوافي

قيل لي لِمَ تَرَكت نَظم القَوافي

مَع أنّ القَريض رَوضة أنسِ

مَع أنّ القَريض رَوضة أنسِ

I was asked, 'Why have you abandoned composing rhymes,

I was asked, "Why did you abandon composing poetry with rhyme

though poetry is a garden of delight?'

When verse is a garden of joy?"

قُلت إِنّي أَرى القَريض مضرّا

قُلت إِنّي أَرى القَريض مضرّا

وَلِهَذا أَبيت إِضرار نَفسي

وَلِهَذا أَبيت إِضرار نَفسي

I said, 'I consider poetry harmful,

I said, "I see rhyme does harm

and for this reason I refused to harm myself.'

And so I refused to damage my soul."

قيل ماذا الَّذي يضرّك مِنهُ

قيل ماذا الَّذي يضرّك مِنهُ

قُلت لَو تَسألوا يراعي وَطرسي

قُلت لَو تَسألوا يراعي وَطرسي

I was asked, 'What in it harms you?'

They said, "What harm comes to you from it?"

I said, 'If only you would ask my reed pen and my page.'

I said, "If you were to ask the shepherd and night watchman,

فَأَتوا يَقرأونه فَتَراءى

فَأَتوا يَقرأونه فَتَراءى

فيهِ عُنوان كُلّ طالع نَحسِ

فيهِ عُنوان كُلّ طالع نَحسِ

So they came and read it, and there appeared

And they came to read it, they would see

in it the mark of every ill-omened fortune.

In it omens foretelling every ill fate."

قُلت ماذا وَجَدتُمُ فَأَجابوا

قُلت ماذا وَجَدتُمُ فَأَجابوا

قَد وَجَدنا هُناكَ صَنعة هلسِ

قَد وَجَدنا هُناكَ صَنعة هلسِ

I said, 'What did you find?' And they replied,

I said, "What did you find?" They answered,

'We have indeed found there a work of nonsense.'

"We found in it the work of a wizard."

قُلت هَلّا اِشتَرَيتُم الشِعرَ مِنّي

قُلت هَلّا اِشتَرَيتُم الشِعرَ مِنّي

قيل إِنّا لا نَشتَريهِ بِفلسِ

قيل إِنّا لا نَشتَريهِ بِفلسِ

I said, 'Why not buy the poetry from me?'

I said, "Why did you not buy the poem from me?"

I was told, 'We would not buy it for a single fils.'

They said, "We do not buy it for a cent."