1. O you who preceded seeking his goal in anguish
And O you whose grace gifts keep flowing

2. He who sinned days till when they ended
To his auspicious day, for it he had an excuse

3. And he who makes days expansive with harm and attaining
And fills in his record the eye and the chest

4. Would you be pleased that one like me lives sprawled
Among a people who know not his worth

5. Their hearts from ignorance are in seclusion
And their ears from arrogance are filled and deaf

6. When they hear of merit, their faces chill
Black, their cheeks dusty from gloom

7. They wrong me without knowledge, for they only
See my position among them as pride

8. And if they knew the extent of my merit, I'd befriend them
And not seek from them reward or wage

9. I'm but like the noble lady, whenever
She saw her match in glory, she lowered the dowry

10. So do you have it in you to deliver me from their captivity?
For I am among the people taken prisoner

11. The nights pass, I hear not from them
Of merit, prose that would grace the hearing or verse

12. And poverty drove me not to you, but rather
My soul's aloofness refused to know poverty

13. I seek none but honors, for it is
The nature of a bitter soul filled with pride