وَأَخوَسَ دِلّاجٍ عَلَيَّ وَرائِحٍ

رَجاءَ نَوالٍ لَو يُعانُ بِجودِ

A silent lover with sighs for me,

And a squint-eyed intruder, pacing to and fro, night and day,

Hoping for union though far from generosity.

Hoping for a gift—if only his hope were met with bounty.

وَإِنّي وَإِيّاهُ لِقَرنانِ نَصطَلي

مِنَ المَطلِ ناراً غَيرَ ذاتِ خُمودِ

Yet he and I are paired fire-sticks,

Truly, he and I are matched adversaries, burning together

Kindling flames that never fade.

In the fire of stalling, a flame that never dies down.

قَطَبتُ لَهُ وَجهاً قَطوباً عَنِ النَدى

وَأَيأَستُهُ مِن نائِلٍ بِوَعيدِ

I turned my face from him, aloof,

I knit my brows at him, a face scowling against generosity,

And dashed his hopes with threats.

And cut off his hope of any gain with a stern warning:

فَإِن كُنتَ لا عَن سوءِ فِعلِكَ مُقلِعاً

فَدونَكَ فَاستَظهِر بِنَعلِ حَديدِ

If you won't stop your misdeeds,

"If you will not desist from your foul behavior,

Then walk away in iron-shod feet.

Then go ahead—fortify yourself with sandals of iron,

فَعِندِيَ مَطلٌ لا يُطيرُ غُرابَهُ

مُطيرٌ وَلا يُدعى لَهُ بِوَليدِ

I have a glance that no crow can scare off,

For I possess a delay whose ominous raven never takes flight;

A downpour that needs no clouds.

No one can startle it away, nor is an offspring ever born of it."