إِنَّ الخَضيبَ لَفي بَلاءٍ مُطبِقٍ

ما بَينَنا في ذاكَ مِنهُ خِلافُ

The Dyed One is surely engulfed in affliction;

among us, there is no disagreement about that.

لا سَيِّما إِن ظَلَّ يَعمَلُ نُسخَةً

وَتَسَوَّدَت مِنهُ بِها الأَطرافُ

Especially if he keeps working on a manuscript copy,

and through it his fingertips turn black.

إِن كانَ بَزّازاً وَكانَ كَما بَدا

فيهِ بَدا وَكَأَنَّهُ إِسكافُ

If he is a cloth merchant, and is as he appears,

he appears as though he were a cobbler.