1. ليَ شغلٌ عن ذكرِ لبني وهندٍ

    وَنوار أو الرَّباب وَدَعْدِ

    I am too occupied to mention Lubna and Hind,

    and Nawar, or al-Rabab and Da'd.

  2. فاطوِ عَنّي حَديثَ طيءٍ وَدَعْني

    منْ كَثيب اللوى وأكناف نَجْدِ

    So spare me the talk of Tayy, and leave me

    away from the dune of al-Liwa and the outskirts of Najd,

  3. وطلولٍ قد أقفَرَتْ من أُناس

    كالشّياطين إنْ بَدَتْ عَنْ بُعدِ

    and ruins deserted by people,

    like devils when they appear from afar.

  4. كلُّ بادي السِّنان يلمع كالنج

    مِ ليَ الويلُ إنْ رآني وَحْسدي

    Each bares a spearhead glittering like a star—

    woe to me if he sees me—and my envy [reading unclear].

  5. ذِكره يَنقُصُ الوضوءَ وَمنْ عا

    ينَه رُبّما تراهُ يُنَدِّي

    Mentioning him impairs ablution; whoever looks

    upon him, you may well see wetting himself.

  6. أنتَ عَوني على الزَّمانِ فَكُنْ لي

    منْ غريمٍ مطالبٍ لي ألَدِّ

    You are my help against Time; so stand by me

    against a creditor who pursues me, bitterly contentious:

  7. زوجهٌ في النِّقار ديكٌ ولكنْ

    لها في النِّساء صورةَ قردِ

    a wife—a rooster in her pecking quarrels, yet

    among women she has the form of an ape.

  8. لَكَمتني بِبَطْنِ راحَتِها في

    ظهرِ خَلفي وأصبحت تستعدي

    She struck me with the flat of her palm on

    my backside, then began seeking redress against me.

  9. طلبتني بالحقِّ والحقُ إن صُحِّ

    فَ فيهِ نكايةٌ في جلدي

    She demanded her due; and 'due,' if misread,

    has harm in store for my skin.

  10. وَلَعَمري لو حاوَلَتْ نقدَ أهلِ ال

    غربِ صَكّاً لَكُنْتُ أوفى بِنَقْدِ

    And by my life, had she sought the currency of the people of the

    West—in slaps—I would have repaid her more fully.

  11. ثم جاءت بِرقعةِ الحيس عجلي

    برسولٍ لِلحُكمِ قاس جَلْد

    Then she came hastily with a note about hays [reading unclear],

    with a court messenger, harsh and hardy.

  12. قلتُ لا يستطيعُ حبسي قاضٍ

    وأنا خريةٌ وَحَسبسْيَ يُردي

    I said: No judge can imprison me;

    I am a turd, and my confinement [uncertain reading] is fatal.

  13. فأكفهَرَّتْ ثمَّ أشرأبَتْ وَوَلّتْ

    وَهيَ تَسْطو بِكُلِّ هدٍّ وَرَعْدِ

    So she scowled, then craned her neck and turned away,

    while she lashed out with every crash and thunderclap.

  14. قلتُ لا تَغْضَبي عَلَيَّ وَلومي

    شؤمَ بَخْتي وارعَيْ حقوقي وَوُدِّي

    I said: Do not be angry with me; blame

    my ill luck, and respect my rights and affection.

  15. أنا إلا ذاك المكدِّي بالشعّ

    رِ وأَينَ الكرامُ حتّى أُكدِّيْ

    I am nothing but that beggar who begs through poetry—

    and where are the generous, so that I may beg?

  16. ولئن دام ذا الكسادُ على الشع

    رِ يقيناً أقومُ أفتَحُ جُندي

    And if this slump in poetry persists,

    I shall surely rise and set up my army.

  17. وَتَريني يومَ الطرادِ بِخَيْلٍ

    وافراتِ الأكفالِ جُردٍ مُرْدِ

    And you will see me on the day of the chase with horses,

    ample-rumped, hairless and beardless.

  18. أيّ شيءٍ أعوز تِرسي قفايَ

    في حروبِ الهوى وَلَتِّي قُمُدِّي

    What do I lack? My nape is my shield

    in love's wars; my club is my penis.

  19. أوَ ماذا الشِّتا أتاني وفوقي

    جُبّةٌ قد لَبِسْتُها من جِلدي

    And what of it? Winter has come, and over me

    is a robe I have put on, made of my own skin.

  20. وَلِرأسي منَ العمائمِ شَعري

    ذات مشطٍ أعيى بَنانَ ألمُسَدي

    And my hair serves my head for a turban,

    whose combing defeats a weaver's fingertips.

  21. يا رياحَ المريس هُبيِّ وصُبي

    وأجهدي إنَّ قبّةَ الفرنِ عِنْدي

    O winds of al-Maris, blow and pour down,

    and do your utmost: I have the oven's dome.

  22. وَجَليسي فيها قَطَطّوا العِظامي

    وَكُوَيكاتُ مَعْ سحابِ القَمَنْدي

    And my companion there is Qatatwa al-'Izami,

    and Kuwaykat, with Sahab al-Qamandi,

  23. وَجُعَيْسات والقُلَيْطُ وَحكّو

    ودُميعات والعَكَفْشُ العرندي

    and Ju'aysat, al-Qulayt, and Hakku,

    and Dumay'at and al-'Akafsh al-'Arandi,

  24. وَقَطاطير ثُقْبَةُ البرشِ والغو

    ل وشحفورُ والقَشا والزَّرندي

    and Qatatir, 'Hole-in-the-Mat,' and the Ghoul—

    and Shahfur, al-Qasha, and al-Zarandi.

  25. معشَرٌ في الحرافِ من جندِهم إبلي

    سُ مَعَ جُندِهِ وهم منْ جندي

    A band among the beggars whose troops include Iblis—

    with his army; and they belong to my army.

  26. ذا يُنادي بالَلْحَرافيشِ مَنْ في

    كُمُ مِثلي وَقَدْ تَفَرَّدتُ وَحْدي

    This one cries among the riffraff: Who among

    you is like me? I alone stand unrivaled.

  27. أهطُلُ الكدَّ والسّماقينِ بالفَيْ

    سِ وما أَن أكيفهم شطرَ مَرْد

    I pour down begging and 'sumaqin' by 'fays' [terms unclear]—

    and I do not accommodate them with half a 'mard' [reading unclear].

  28. مَن يقاسي وَمَن يُسابِقني بال

    قَملِ في بوصتي وكعبي ونردي

    Who can endure it, and who can rival me with

    lice, in my reed, my knucklebone, and my backgammon?

  29. أنا مِن عصبةٍ همُ الجمرُ في الشرِّ

    وهذي علامتي فوقَ زَندي

    I belong to a band who are burning coals of wickedness,

    and this is my mark above my wrist.

  30. والسّعيدُ الكبيرُ مِنّا إذا قا

    مَ تراهُ يَمشي بِقِطعةِ لَبْدِ

    And the fortunate elder among us, when he rises,

    you see him walking with a piece of felt.

  31. وَتَراني إنْ نِمْتُ فَرشي رمادُ ال

    فرنِ سخناً وصحفتي تحتَ خدِّي

    And when I sleep, you see my bed is the ash of the

    oven, still hot, and my bowl lies beneath my cheek.

  32. أتدفا بالنّارِ حتّى يرى جِلْ

    دِيَ منهُ مبقّعاً كالَفْهدِ

    I warm myself by the fire until my skin looks

    mottled from it, like a leopard.

  33. هذه حالةُ المفاليسِ لم يَرْ

    ضَ بها للحرافِ أنَجسُ عَبْدِ

    This is the lot of the penniless; not even

    the filthiest slave would approve it for beggars.

  34. وَلَوَ أنّي هَلَكتُ في بَلَدِ الكر

    ج بِبَرْدٍ لكفّنوني بِبُرْدِ

    And had I died in the land of the Kurj—

    of cold, they would have shrouded me in a cloak.