1. The companion journeyed on to his goal while we lingered,
And though he did not offer excuse nor mourn his friend,

2. He saw that only perseverance could lessen his sorrow
And so was fated to weep and bide his time.

3. None were left save a silent hermit
And a dishevelled vagrant with necklace askew,

4. Whom time forgot and treacherously betrayed,
Ever fickle in its dealings and quick to renounce.

5. After the days you spent here, looking out on its plains
To see a landscape like the gaze of heavy-lidded eyes,

6. That melt the souls of men with their murderous glances,
Inciting in their hearts both rapture and unease.

7. Days when flowers scatter their petals heedlessly
And events wake me from my slumber,

8. Are you not surprised that a friend whose wickedness
Knows no bounds should ask advice or ponder?

9. He shuns all piety so his rigid mind will not relent,
And his vipers spurn the charmers’ murmurings.

10. The old affection we shared is wholly gone,
And the new love of comrades has taken its place.

11. He lords it over me whenever I seek his favor,
Yet when I shun him, desperately he clings to me,

12. Bearing news, his own soul he risks,
Just so with secrets he can regale and spin his tales.

13. He jests but his mockery stirs the soul to rage,
And would wound the hearts of any who heard.

14. Bare of the raiment of glory and righteous fear,
No inheritance of the Caliphs’ generosity did he inherit.

15. Was he not just one of the roving hordes
Who preyed on me with baseness and presumption?

16. He deserves a blow or a cast of stones
To drive from me the most wretched and vile.

17. And you who falsely claim to be my amanuensis -
By night naught can be seen but your frantic scrawling.