إن ابنَ عدلانَ له حيلةٌ

يعجَزُ من رام تحلّيها

Ibn Adlan has a stratagem indeed,

that baffles whoever tries to fathom it:

نصفيةٌ فرّكَ أكمامَها

وعمّةٌ صفّ حواشِيها

a half-length robe, its sleeves rubbed smooth,

and a turban with borders neatly aligned.

فقلتُ غرّتْكُمْ مخاريقُه

وغُيّبَتْ عنكُم مخازيها

I said: His sleights have beguiled you,

while their disgraces were hidden from you.

واللهِ ما وسّعَ أكمامَهُ

عُجْباً بما نالَ ولا تِيها

By God, he did not widen his sleeves

from pride in what he gained, nor vainglory;

وإنما وسّعها عِدّةٌ

يحمِلُ ما يسرِقْهُ فيها

he widened them only as a means

to carry in them whatever he steals.