Now this court will learn
that I am the greatest in wit and courage.
I am he whose writing the blind see
and whose words grant hearing to the deaf.
Content with complete verses, I sleep,
while others strain for simple rhymes.
I laughed at the frauds and their ignorance
until, with discerning hand and mouth, I destroy them.
If you see the lion bare his teeth,
do not assume he is smiling!
Author: أبو الطيب المتنبي
