ولو رُمت بي شيئاً وفي النجم مسكني

وعيشك لم يدفع مرادَك دافع

Even if you aimed something at me while my dwelling was among the stars,

by your life, no defender could thwart your aim.

وأنّك كالليل الذي هو مدركي

وإن خلت إن المنتأى عنك واسع

For you are like the night that is sure to overtake me,

though I imagined the farthest refuge from you was broad.

فوا عجبا كيف اتهمت مصدقاً

وصدقتَ من ضاعت لديه الودائع

Oh, what a wonder! How could you suspect one who spoke truly,

and believe one in whose keeping trusts were lost?

وحملتني ذنبَ أمري وتركته

كذي العُر يكوى غيره وهو راتع

You burdened me with the blame for my affair, yet left him be—

like one afflicted with mange: another is cauterized while he grazes.

سمعت حسوداً بالنمائم قد وشى

ارتفع ذا خفضٍ ويخفض رافع

You listened to an envier who had spread slanderous tales;

one of low station rose, while one high-standing is brought low.

وقد قيل في البطحا أحمد ساَحرٌ

وشاعتْ بغير الحق عنه الشوائع

It was said in al-Baṭḥāʾ, “Aḥmad is a sorcerer,”

and calumnies about him spread without right.

وتَسمع قول الزيلعي وزُوْرُه

علينا وما قد كنتَ للزور سَامِعُ

And you listen to al-Zaylaʿī’s words and his falsehood

against us—though never before were you one to heed falsehood.

وقد بيع قبل اليوم بالبخس يوسف

وأي فتىً ادناه للرخص بائع

Before today, Joseph was sold for a paltry price;

and what youth has a seller ever abased by pricing him cheaply?