بنفسي من أجودُ له بنفسي

ويَبخَلُ بالتحيَّةِ والسَّلامِ

With myself I give most generously

Yet he is miserly with greeting and peace

ويلقاني بِعزَّةِ مُستطيلٍ

وألقاه بِذلَّةِ مُستهامِ

And he meets me with the pride of one made haughty

While I meet him with the humility of one brought low

وَحَتْفِيَ كامنٌ في مُقْلتَيه

كُمونَ الموتِ في حَدِّ الحُسامِ

And in his eyes there lurks an ambush

Like the ambush of death on the edge of a sword