1. لائم لامني أطال التعدّي

    لم يرد بالملام إذ لام رشدي

    A faultfinder reproached me, prolonging his abuse;

    his reproach, when he blamed me, was not meant to guide me aright.

  2. قال لي أنت فيلسوف خيول

    عالم كيس بحل وعقد

    He said to me, “You are a conceited philosopher,

    learned and shrewd in untying and tying.

  3. هات قل لي ولا تقل قول زور

    لم تكدّي فقلت من ضعف جدّي

    Come, tell me, and speak no falsehood:

    why do you beg?” I said, “Because of my poor fortune.

  4. قد طلبت الغنى بكل احتيال

    واحتراف ما بين شام ونجد

    I have sought wealth through every stratagem

    and trade, throughout the stretch between Sham and Najd.

  5. فأبى الله أن أكون غنيّا

    ما احتيالي والنحس يطرد سعدي

    But God refused to let me be rich.

    What use is my resourcefulness, when ill luck drives my good fortune away?

  6. غير أني لما احترقت فلم أظ

    فر بشيء وضعت للدهر خدّي

    Yet when I had burned myself out and failed to gain

    anything, I laid my cheek down before Time.

  7. هائم في القرى أكدّي وأمشي

    من يراني يقول هذا مسدّي

    Wandering through the villages, I beg and walk;

    whoever sees me says, ‘This is a wandering beggar.’”