1. I'm surprised, for I came to visit the son of meanness,
And found him with a face full of strange expressions.
١. عَجبْتُ وقد جئْتُ ابنَ لُؤْمٍ أزَورُه
فوافَيتُه والدهرُ جَمٌّ عجائبُه
2. I greeted him at close range, but his only response
Was what his eyebrows silently expressed.
٢. وسَلمتُ من قُرْبٍ عليه فلم يكُنْ
جوابيَ إلا ما أشَارتْ حَواجِبه
3. He's so tall the eye can't take his full height in,
Yet he seems weighed down when you stand by his side.
٣. وما شامِخٌ لا تُنِصِفُ العَينُ طُولَهُ
بأثقلَ منه حين يَزْوَرُّ جانبه
4. His face merits cursing necessity itself,
When we come to him with an important issue to discuss.
٤. مِنَ المُقْتضيِ لَعْنَ الضّرورةِ وَجْهُه
إذا ما أتَيْنا في مُهمٍّ نُخاطبه