ما لُمتُ في أَفعالِهِ صالِحاً

بَل خِلتُهُ أَحسَنَ مِنّي ضَمير

I do not blame him for his good deeds,

Rather, I find him more virtuous than myself.

يا قَومِ لَو كُنتُ أَميراً لَكُم

ذَمَمتُم في الغَيبِ ذاكَ الأَمير

O people, if I were your leader,

You would criticize that leader in his absence.

وَإِنَّما سائِسُكُم دائِبٌ يُر

عى المَطايا وَيَسوقُ الحَمير

Yet your guide constantly rides

Mules and leads donkeys.

وَاِبنُ جَميرٍ فَوقَكُم عاتِمٌ

فَهَل سَمِعتُم بِأَبيهِ جَمير

And the son of Jamir hovering over you is ignorant,

Have you heard of his father Jamir?

وَرَدتُمُ الآجِنَ مِن دينِكُم

وَما ظَفِرتُم بِالصَريحِ النَمير

You have rejected the foreigner from your religion,

Yet you have not attained the bright summit.

عالِمُكُم يَضرِبُ في غَمرَةٍ

كَالعِلجِ بِالقَفرِ يَلُسُّ الغَمير

Your scholar strikes in the darkness

Like a lost camel in the wasteland sitting still.

فَعَرِّفوني بِفَتاً مِنكُمُ

لا يَمتَري الناسَ وَلَكِن يَمير

Show me one of your youths,

Who does not fool people, but leads.

سامَرتُكُم دَهراً وَفارَقتُكُم

عَن هِجرَةٍ ما سَمَرَ اِبنا سَمير

I associated with you all for a time and left you

After a migration - the son of Samir never kept night.

إِن أَقمَرَ اللَيلُ عَلى وَفدِكُم

وَجَدتُكُم مِن قَمَرٍ أَو قَمير

If the night shone its moonlight on your delegation,

I would find you made of moonlight or mirage.