إيهاً أتاكَ الحمامُ فاختَرَمَكْ

غَيرُ سفيهٍ عَلَيكَ من شتمَكْ

The pigeons came flocking to you, offending you,

So then! Death has come to you and snatched you away,

Not a fool insulting you because they attacked you.

And he was no fool, the one who heaped abuse on you.

هَمُّكَ في أمرَدٍ تُقَلِّب في

عينِ دواةٍ لصُلبهِ قَلَمَكْ

You are worried about a matter you turn in the eye

Your obsession is a beardless lad, wherein you stir

Of a quill that is hard because of its dried-up ink.

Your pen inside the inkwell of his loins,

وهِمَّتي في انتضاءِ ذي شطبٍ

أَقُدُّ يوماً بحَدِّهِ أدَمَكْ

While I am determined to erase what is crossed out

While my ambition is to unsheathe a finely ridged blade,

And every day I sharpen its edge to blot out your name.

That I might one day shred your hide with its edge.

فاخسَأ كليباً واقعُد على ذنَبٍ

واطلِ بما بينَ إليَتيكَ فمكْ

So sit back, feeling dejected, and clamp your mouth shut!

So begone, you little cur, and squat upon your tail,

And stop sticking your nose into my affairs!

And daub your mouth with what lies betwixt your buttocks.