1. A bean for his breakfast,
His clothes ragged and torn.
١. فولٌ بفلسٍ غداءً
واللبس سحق قطيفَهْ
2. He sniffed deeply, lost,
Yet with a noble soul lived on.
٢. فاشمخْ بأنفِكَ تيهاً
وعشْ بنفسٍ شريفَهْ
3. They said time was ignoble,
But my soul is noble, I responded.
٣. قالوا الزمانُ خسيسٌ
فقلتُ نفسي شريفَهْ
4. And death is the justice,
That makes the caliph and I equal.
٤. والموتُ عدلٌ يسوِّي
بيني وبينَ الخليفَهْ