1. وما كانت الآداب إلا طرائفاً

    من الشعر أو ما يستجادُ من النثر

    And literature was nothing but choice pieces

    Of poetry, or prose deemed fine.

  2. فأبرزها المهديّ عذراء غضةً

    تأوّد تحت الحلى في الحلل الخضر

    Then al-Mahdi brought it forth, a tender virgin,

    Swaying beneath her jewels in green robes.

  3. مباحث لو غذّى زهيرٌ ببعضها

    لأمست قوافيه أدّق من السحر

    Studies—had Zuhayr fed upon some of them,

    His rhymes would have grown subtler than magic.

  4. ولو فقه النيل المبارك كنهها

    لحول ذيّاك المزيج إلى خمر

    And had the blessed Nile understood their essence,

    It would have turned that mixture into wine.

  5. ولو أذن الدهر العبوس لبعضها

    لأصبحت الأيام ضاحكة الثغر

    And had grim Time lent an ear to some of them,

    The days would have worn smiles upon their lips.

  6. ولو عرفت مصر المفدّاة قدرها

    لباتت لما يلقى البيان على جمر

    And had Egypt, whom we would ransom, known their worth,

    She would have spent the night on embers for what eloquence suffers.

  7. فيا واحداً عزّ البيان بفضله

    على طول ما لاقى البيان من الهجر

    So, O peerless one, through whose merit eloquence grew mighty,

    Despite the long neglect that eloquence endured,

  8. لبعدك في الأحشاء نار ذكيةٌ

    تفتّت من كبدى وتأكل من صدرى

    Because of your absence, a fierce fire burns in my entrails,

    Tearing pieces from my liver and eating away at my breast.

  9. صبرت عليها يعلم اللَه راغماً

    على حين لا غوثٌ يؤمّل من حر

    I bore it—God knows—against my will,

    At a time when no help could be hoped for from a noble man.

  10. ولما رأيت الصبر ليس بنافعي

    عمدت إلى همى أحمّله شعرى

    And when I saw that patience was of no use to me,

    I turned to my sorrow, making my verse bear it.