1. Let the rose wither, I will not stay
My love for poetry is a rose in the breeze

2. I have taken its color and fragrance for myself
And scattered it around me and around my companion

3. I long for the rose you are carrying
On a soft cheek, watered with the wine of bliss

4. In its scent I see the earth as a garden
And the fires of hell are quenched in my chest

5. Give it to one whose wounds have caused him grief
For not every wound is painful like his

6. A young man's misery is from his ideas and senses
So the suffering of a poet or wise man is greater

7. I have suffered from a burden I was not created to bear
So many vulgar, vile people have come to me

8. When a person occupies other than his rightful place
He goes astray in misery, lost like an animal

9. Your life, intelligence is lost in ignorance
Like water spilt on the ground above ashes

10. It is proper for the noble one to be faithful to all and yet
See no one faithful, even if worn down by a thousand betrayals

11. And everything beautiful is a sacrifice for the ugly one
And the forebearance of the virtuous is rent by the vicious

12. So the free are not worn down among the peoples
By the poultice of treatment and the trust of the vile one

13. There is no good among the tribe I am among
Like a stranger's garment or an orphan's wealth

14. They have a passion for injustice in their nature
As they have greed for clemency in the presence of the clement one

15. They are among the wicked and stupid, sharing
The folly of a madman and the betrayal of a sinner

16. The apes have embarrassed our lions
And the rogue has worn the garb of a leader

17. Listen to my complaint, for you are a noble woman
And every noble feels what each noble feels

18. And if you mock my frustration and rudeness, then grace
A true Arab of your people with kindness

19. And say to him, live among them while ridiculing them
For every great one hopes for a great one