تعرَّضَ لي دونه مَعْشرٌ

كرامٌ وما ذاك أنْ أكرموهُ

A company attacked me, though they were generous

And it was not as though I had honored them.

ولكنّهُمْ أعظموا مَنطقي

وكان جديراً بأنْ يُعْظِمُوه

But they magnified my eloquence

And it was fitting that they esteem it.

فصانوا هجائيَ عنْ عرضه

بأعراضه شدّ ما استْلأموه

So they protected my satire from touching his honor

With their own honor, however much it provoked him.

لئن رَحِموا الشعرَ من لؤمه

لحقَّ وحقوا بأنْ يرْحموه

If they had mercy on poetry for its meanness,

It was right and proper that they show it mercy.