1. أَمُلتَمِساً مِنّي صَديقاً لِنَوبَةٍ

    وَأَنتَ صَديقي لا أَرى لَكَ ثانِيا

    Are you seeking from me a friend for a time of trouble,

    when you are my friend, and I see no other like you?

  2. لَحا اللَهُ دَهراً خانَني فيهِ أَهلُهُ

    وَأَحشَمَني حَتّى اِحتَشَمتُ الأَدانِيا

    May God curse an age whose people betrayed me,

    and made me so abashed that I shrank even from those closest to me.

  3. فَلَستُ أَرى إِلّا عَدُوّاً مُكاشِفاً

    وَلَستُ أَرى إِلّا صَديقاً مُداجِيا

    For I see only an openly hostile enemy,

    and I see only a dissembling friend.