أَيا حَضرة البيك الشريعيّ ذي الصَفا

وَحسن الوَفا يا خَير أَعضاء مَجلسِ

O Excellency, Bey al-Sharīʿī, possessor of purity

and gracious fidelity—best of the council’s members!

وَعدت بِتَقديم القَصيد وَإِنَّهُ

لَوعدٌ كَريم لَم يَزل مِنكَ مؤنسي

You promised to present the ode, and truly it is

a noble promise from you that has never ceased to cheer me.

فَما ذَلِكَ الإغضا بِغَير جِناية

بَدَت مِن غُلام للصنيعة ما نَسِي

Why, then, this neglect, when no offense

has arisen from a servant who has never forgotten your favor?

وَمالي أَرى جَيش الكَرى أَمَّ طَرفَكم

بِوَقتِ حُضوري عِندَكُم لِلتأنُّس

And why do I see the army of sleep advancing upon your eyes

at the very time I am with you, seeking companionship?

فَإِن كانَ مِن واش وَشى بي لَديكُمُ

لِيَحظى مِن المَولى بِمالٍ وأَطلس

If some informer has maligned me in your presence

to gain from my lord your money and satin,

فَما بُغيتي مِنكُم سِوى حُسن ودّكم

وَإِن كانَ أَغنى برُّكم كُلَّ مُفلس

all I desire from you is your gracious affection,

though your beneficence has enriched every pauper.

وَإِن ظَهر الواشي رَأى ما يَهوله

وَلَو أَنَّهُ المَنثور أَو عَين نَرجس

If the informer is exposed, he will see what terrifies him,

even were he the gillyflower itself, or the very eye of a narcissus.