يا عَرَبِيّاً مِن صَنعَةِ السوقِ

وَصَنعَةُ السوقِ ذاتُ تَشقيقِ

O Arab fabricated from the trade of the marketplace,

And the craft of the marketplace is riddled with cracks,

ما رَأيُكُم يا نِزارُ في رَجُلٍ

يَدخُلُ فيكُم مِن خَلقِ مَخلوقِ

What is your opinion, O Nizar, regarding a man

Who intrudes among you, a creature born of a creature,

وَيَحمِلُ الوَطبَ وَالعِلابَ وَلا

يَصلُحُ إِلّا لِحَملِ إِبريقِ

Who carries the milk-skins and the milking-vessels,

And is fit for nothing but to carry a serving-pitcher?

لَقَد ضَرَبنا بِالطَبلِ أَنَّكَ في ال

قَومِ صَحيحٌ وَصيحَ في البوقِ

We have beaten the drum to claim that you are, among the

People, genuine; and the trumpet has been blown,

قَد أَخَذَ اللَهُ مِن رَقاشِ عَلى

تَركِهِمُ المَجدَ بِالمَواثيقِ

God has indeed exacted from the clan of Raqash

Solemn covenants regarding their abandonment of glory,

فَالناسُ يَسعَونَ لِلعُلى قُدُماً

وَهُم وَراءَ مُكَسَّرو السوقِ

So while people strive forward towards the heights,

They lag behind, the broken wares of the market,

هَذا كَذاكُم وَفي الهِياجِ إِذا

هيجَ فَما شِئتَ مِن بَواشيقِ

This is your likeness; and in the tumult, when

It is stirred, you are nothing but a scattering of sparrow-hawks.