وخِلٍّ كخِلْم السوء أنكرتُ ودَّه

وخُلَّته أن نَكّر الدهر منظري

I spurned the love of an ignoble friend,

And he denied our friendship when fortune turned against me.

يظل يُراعيني بعينَي شناءةٍ

ويُعرِضُ عن ودي بخدٍ مُصعّر

He watches me with hostile eyes,

And turns his cheek away from my affection.

كأنا تعاقدنا الخلالة بيننا

لوجهٍ طرير أو لخلْقٍ مصوَّر

It's as if we had agreed to feign affection

For a comely face or cultured mind.

رأى الدهر قد أودى بماء شبيبتي

فأنكر من أحداثهِ غيرَ منكر

Fate has washed away my youth,

And so he denies all but what he disavows.

ولم تر خلم السوء تمنح وصلها

خليلاً فترعاهُ على حين مَكبر

You never saw an ignoble friend offer loyalty

To a companion, tending to him in his dotage.

ومن لم يزلْ بالحادثات معيِّراً

فَوشكان ما يُلْحقْنَه بالمعيَّر

One who continually derides misfortunes

Will soon suffer the derision of others.

ومهما شكا الشاكون من جور دهرهم

فليس مُريباً معشراً دون معشر

However much the discontented protest the tyranny of fate,

No tribe is more unjust than another.

وإني وإنْ جفني تقادم عهده

لأمضي مضاءَ المَشرفيِّ المذكَّر

And though the passage of time has estranged me,

I will persevere with the pride of the noble-born.