رأيتُ نسا هذا الزمان خبائي

رأيتُ نسا هذا الزمان خبائي

فطلّقتُ زنبوراً هناك ثلاثا

فطلّقتُ زنبوراً هناك ثلاثا

I saw the women of this age—my tent [wording unclear].

I saw the women of this time full of guile,

I found the people of this age to be utterly base,

So I divorced Zunbur there three times.

So I divorced a wasp there three times.

So I cast off Zunbur there with a triple divorce.

وقد كنتُ لا أبغي لغيريَ كلكلاً

وقد كنتُ لا أبغي لغيريَ كلكلاً

سواءُ من الناسِ الكثير مِلاثا

سواءُ من الناسِ الكثير مِلاثا

And I had not sought a chest for anyone else,

And I had no desire for anyone else's anklet bells

For I once sought no heavy breast to bear but my own,

Alike among the many people—[final word unclear].

Whether many people or just a few.

While the common crowds mingled in indistinguishable chaos.

كأنّ استَهُ كانت لأيريَ عن أبي

كأنّ استَهُ كانت لأيريَ عن أبي

أبيهِ لهُ دون الأنام تراثا

أبيهِ لهُ دون الأنام تراثا

As though his anus had been left to my cock by the father

As if her love was an inheritance from my father,

As though his backside were bequeathed to my member,

Of his father—a legacy for it alone, excluding all mankind.

My father's inheritance for me apart from other people.

An inheritance from his grandfather passed to him, barring all mankind.

فلمّا رأيتُ الشيبَ قد مال ذلّةً

فلمّا رأيتُ الشيبَ قد مال ذلّةً

فمحّى كذا عنه سنىً وأثاثا

فمحّى كذا عنه سنىً وأثاثا

Then, when I saw gray hair bend in humiliation,

When I saw old age coming humble,

But when I saw that gray age had bent him toward abasement,

Thus erasing his radiance and finery,

It thus wiped away his years and furnishings.

And thus wiped away from him both splendor and abundance,

دعوتُ حبالي من قواهِ فأصبحت

دعوتُ حبالي من قواهِ فأصبحت

وثيقاتهُ منّي ومنه رثاثا

وثيقاتهُ منّي ومنه رثاثا

I called my ropes away from his strands; then

I called in my ropes from his strength and so they became,

I summoned back the ropes of my attachment from his grasp,

His firm ties, on my side and his, became threadbare.

His bonds from me and him all worn out.

So my bonds became secure, while his ties to me grew threadbare.

فلمّا رأى صَرمي حباها مختّماً

فلمّا رأى صَرمي حباها مختّماً

لينقل أشعاراً رحلنَ خثاثا

لينقل أشعاراً رحلنَ خثاثا

When Mukhattam saw me sever its bands [reading uncertain],

When he saw my affliction had sealed off his love

When he saw my cutting off, he offered his favor to Mukhattam,

To convey verses that departed [perhaps swiftly],

To transmit poems, he journeyed away swift.

To carry verses that traveled with heavy haste.

فلمّا أتى عنّي المختمُ أنّني

فلمّا أتى عنّي المختمُ أنّني

قعدتُ بهِ في الناسِ بالَ وراثا

قعدتُ بهِ في الناسِ بالَ وراثا

When al-Mukhattam brought word about me that I

When the seal came off from me that I

And when the news reached Mukhattam regarding me,

Had sat with him among the people, he pissed and shat.

Sat among people without lineage or inheritance.

That I had cast him aside among the people like a worn-out rag,

لقد ذلّ يا ابنَ المائر القُصبِ امرؤٌ

لقد ذلّ يا ابنَ المائر القُصبِ امرؤٌ

تكونُ له في العالمين غياثا

تكونُ له في العالمين غياثا

Abased indeed is a man, O son of one with quivering entrails,

Alas! O son of the wavering reeds, a man is humbled

Humiliated indeed—O son of the tripe-monger—is the man,

For whom you are a refuge among all peoples.

Whose helpers in the two worlds are few.

For whom you act as a savior among all the worlds.

مختّمٌ جهّز وعجّل فإنّما

مختّمٌ جهّز وعجّل فإنّما

أتاكَ بها مطليّة ليُغاثا

أتاكَ بها مطليّة ليُغاثا

Mukhattam, make ready and hurry, for he has only

Sealed off, make ready and hurry away for only

O Mukhattam, make ready and make haste, for he has only

Come to you with it smeared, so that he might be helped.

Distress has come to you coated in succour.

Come to you with a painted plight to seek your aid.