عَجبْتُ وقد جئْتُ ابنَ لُؤْمٍ أزَورُه

فوافَيتُه والدهرُ جَمٌّ عجائبُه

I'm surprised, for I came to visit the son of meanness,

And found him with a face full of strange expressions.

وسَلمتُ من قُرْبٍ عليه فلم يكُنْ

جوابيَ إلا ما أشَارتْ حَواجِبه

I greeted him at close range, but his only response

Was what his eyebrows silently expressed.

وما شامِخٌ لا تُنِصِفُ العَينُ طُولَهُ

بأثقلَ منه حين يَزْوَرُّ جانبه

He's so tall the eye can't take his full height in,

Yet he seems weighed down when you stand by his side.

مِنَ المُقْتضيِ لَعْنَ الضّرورةِ وَجْهُه

إذا ما أتَيْنا في مُهمٍّ نُخاطبه

His face merits cursing necessity itself,

When we come to him with an important issue to discuss.