أَستَقبِحُ الظاهِرَ مِن صاحِبي

وَما يُواري صَدرُهُ أَقبَحُ

I loathe the outward behavior of my companion

And what his chest conceals is even uglier

سُبِبتَ بِالكَلبِ فَأَنكَرتَهُ

وَالكَلبُ خَيرٌ مِنكَ إِذ يَنبَحُ

You accused the dog so you denied it

Yet the dog is better than you when it barks

صَلّى الفَتى الجُمعَةَ ثُمَّ اِنثَنى

لِذِراعٍ في مِسحِهِ يَذبَحُ

The young man prayed Friday then turned away

To slaughter an arm in its wiping he butchers

يُعطى بِهِ التاجِرُ أَرباحَهُ

وَتاجِرُ الخُسرانِ لا يَربَحُ

With it the merchant earns his profits

While the losing trader does not profit

فَلَيتَني عِشتُ بِداوِيَّةٍ

حَرباؤُها في عودِهِ يَشبَحُ

I wish I lived in a small village

Whose healer in his stick bites and gnaws

يَصدى بِها الرَكبُ وَأَعلامُها

كَأَنَّها في آلِها تَسبَحُ

Where caravans echo and their flags

Seem to glorify God in their clanging

أَو بِتُّ في صَهوَةَ مُستَوطِناً

أُمسي مَعَ الأَغفارِ أَو أُصبَحُ

Or I dwell in a wilderness settling

Spending evenings with beasts or dawns

وَالنَفسُ كَالجامِحِ فَلِيَثنِها

لُبٌّ أَوابي لُجمِهِ تُكبَحُ

As the soul is like an unruly camel, so tame it

With a tender heart or strong reins subdue it