غَدَوتُ أَسيراً في الزَمانِ كَأَنَّني

عَروضُ طَويلٍ قَبضُها لَيسَ يُبسِطُ

I have become a prisoner of time, as though

I am verses of long meter whose grasp cannot extend

وَإِن كُنتُ في بَعضِ الحُكومَةِ قاسِطاً

فَغَيرِيَ مِن هَذي البَريَّةِ أَقسطُ

And if I was unjust in some rule

Others in this wilderness are more unjust

وَأَوتادُ أَبياتٍ مِنَ الشِعرِ حُزتُهُ

كَأَوتادِ بَيتِ الشَعرِ حينَ تَوَسَّطُ

And pegs of verses of poetry held

Like pegs of a nomad's tent when pitched