لَقَد لَجَّ هَذا الدَّهرُ في نكباتِهِ

عَلَيّ إِلى أَن لَيسَ في الكيسِ دِرهَمُ

Indeed this age has overwhelmed me with its calamities,

To the point that there is not a single coin left in my purse,

وَأَمسَت جَواليقي بِرَغمِ ظَعينَتي

رِهاناً عَلى ما في الجَواليقِ يُعكَمُ

And my pockets, despite my arrogance,

Have become collateral for what little they contain,

وَأَعظَمُ من ذا أَنَّ شِعرِيَ مُعرَبٌ

فَصيحٌ وَأنِّي حينَ أَنطِقُ أَعجَمُ

But what's worse is that my poetry is eloquent Arabic,

Yet when I speak, I am incomprehensible.