كَأَنَّما الملقيُّ في علكها

مِن خُصلِ اللحيةِ مِن زبدِ

As if the chewed-up morsel in her saliva

Was a tangled clump from his matted beard,

يقيد عثنونه

مِن وَسَخٍ فيهِ بِلا قَيدِ

Binding his filth with no restraint -

No thought occurs to the bird in flight

ما يَخطُرُ الطائرُ في جَوِّهِ

إِلا هوى فيها مِن الهيدِ

Except to plunge within it headlong.

So while the bird persists aloft

فَبَينَما الحائنُ في جَوِّهِ

مُمتَنِعاً إِذ صارَ في الأَيدي

Thinking itself beyond capture, it is netted.