تَلومُ جودي لِبُرمَةِ الطَفشيلِ

وَاِستَهِلّي فَالصَبرُ غَيرُ جَميلُ

You blame me for being bored

And start complaining, though patience is better

فَجَعَتني بِها يَدٌ لَم تَدَع لِلذَرِّ

في صَحنِ قِدرِها مِن مَقيلِ

It was made by a hand that left nothing

In its pot from greens

كانَ وَاللَهِ لَحمُها مِن فَصيلٍ

رائِعٍ يَرتَعي كَريمَ البُقولِ

By Allah, its meat was from a magnificent breed

Grazing on the finest legumes

فَخَلَطنا بِلَحمِهِ عَدَسَ الشامِ

إِلى حِمِّصٍ لَنا مَبلولِ

We mixed with its meat chickpeas from Damascus

With peppers we soaked

فَأَتَتنا كَأَنَّها رَوضَةٌ بِالحَزنِ

تَدعو الجيرانَ لِلتَطفيلِ

It came to us like a garden full of sorrow

Calling the neighbors over to feast

ثُمَّ أَكفَأتُ فَوقَها جَفنَةَ الحَيِّ

وَعَلَّقتُ صَحفَتي في زَبيلِ

Then I covered it with hay from the living

And hung my bag on a bucket

فَمَنى اللَهُ لي بِفَظٍّ غَليظٍ

ما أَراهُ يُقِرُّ بِالتَنزيلِ

So God protected me with a strong rebuke

I don’t think settles with reciting verses

فَاِنتَحى دائِباً يُدَبِّلُ مِنها

قُلتُ إِنَّ الثَريدَ لِلتَدبيلِ

He kept retracting, slowly cooking it

I said stewing is for cooking

فَتَغَنّى صَوتاً لِيوضِحَ عِندي

حَيِّ أُمَّ العَلاءِ قَبلَ الرَحيلِ

Then he sang loudly to make clear to me

The voice of Umm Al-Ala before leaving