1. Have you not seen how affection between me and Ibn Aamir
Has been ruined by time, and only foxes prowl over it.

2. What remains today of the affection between us
Is as though it never was, and time's wonders are strange.

3. When a man does not love you, except grudgingly,
Unpleasant traits of his character begin to prevail.

4. So it is best to avoid the closeness that breeds familiarity
As no good can come of that which accustoms one to rebuke

5. For I rebuke him every day for some fault
But I am left alone when I do not find faults to rebuke

6. So leave him be, and a man's dignity lost is a lighter peril
When in this world there are ways for the strong-willed to choose.