غَفَرتُ ذُنوباً وَعاقَبتُها

فَأَولى لَكُم يا بَني الأَعرَجِ

I forgave offenses—and punished them.

So woe to you, O sons of al-A‘raj!

تَدِبّونَ حَولَ رَكِيّاتِكُم

دَبيبَ القَنافِذِ في العَرفَجِ

You creep about your wells

as hedgehogs creep through the ‘arfaj scrub.

فَلَولا اِبنُ أَسماءَ قَلَّدتُكُم

قَلائِدَ ذي عُرَّةٍ مُنضَجِ

Were it not for Ibn Asmāʾ, I would have hung upon you

the collars of a creature with festering mange.