1. He rebuked me unjustly, though I did nothing wrong,
I fear the censure of my father, oh what grief!

2. I used to praise his lineage effusively,
And confirm his complicated ancestry,

3. Hoping he would act nobly and justly,
And maintain our ties of kinship sincerely,

4. I saw him as loyal, though he had no origin,
For how could one with no lineage have loyalty?

5. So do not praise a newfound brother,
Unless you've tested him from the start,

6. For if he fails your hopes and changes course,
You won't be the first whose wishes fell short.

7. Didn't I single you out with a special bond,
Of love and intimacy that's hard to find?

8. I implore, in your name, one who's righteous,
Though it was not your right that I beseech.

9. I'm told you're deserving of favor and rank,
Of the highest esteem and position,

10. And my reward was what you already knew,
And what you had no right to do.

11. I see you've reverted to your noble roots,
And your complicated ancestral tale,

12. Whose lineage originated in a rundown hut,
Of tattered, worn-out palm fronds,

13. Which you'd mistake for a dunghill when dark,
From the mesh woven on its back.

14. By God, what a state you're in at daybreak,
They found you rummaging the garbage heap.

15. Swatting away the flies in your rags,
When a cannonball came and blasted you to bits.

16. There's no one there who would claim your body,
Lest they be thought associated with your shame.