بِسَخا عامِلٌ طَرَقناهُ يَوماً

فَوَجدناهُ لَيسَ فيهِ سَخاءُ

With stinginess we reproached a man one day,

But found he had no generosity.

عِندَهُ أَنهُ جَريرٌ وَهَذا

أَصلُ ما اِنجَرَّ فيهِ مِنّي الهِجاءُ

He thought himself a poet—and that was why

My satires against him were set in array.

عَجَبي فيهِ كَيفَ يَخفى عَلَيهِ

عَجزُهُ عَن بُلوغِهِ ما يَشاءُ

I wondered how he failed to recognize

That he fell short of all he hoped to reach.