1. By Him in whose presence secrets are disclosed,
Had I not feared dire consequences, I’d wish ruin on my slanderers;

2. I was made the victim of the young lord’s tyranny,
Though none of my people rose to defend me.

3. When I stretched out my palms before him, craving my due,
I was as one possessed, or stained with dishonor.

4. Little did I think I would get nothing
But an unjust judgment from his unjust clerks.

5. When the dirham gleamed green though false,
Passed from hand to hand, destiny revolved.

6. Grief has brought forth from me the bile of bitterness,
And noble souls are tried by ordeals.

7. I recalled some verses satirizing one of them:
He had in beauty on earth no peer.

8. That cheek turned green not from fresh growth
But from the tears his tyrannies drew forth.

9. To me the house of Ibn Marzuq is a treasury;
For mighty straits it provides the wherewithal.

10. If he but knew what pains have wasted me,
He would disavow how destiny has turned.