وافى كِتابُكَ يَزدَري

بِالدُرِّ أَو بِالجَوهَرِ

Your book came belittling

Pearls or gems

فَقَرَأتُ فيهِ رِسالَةً

مُزِجَت بِذَوبِ السُكَّرِ

So I read in it a letter

Mixed with molten sugar

أَجرَيتَ في أَثنائِها

نَهرَ اِنسِجامِ الكَوثَرِ

You flowed in its midst

The river of abundant generosity

وَفَرَطتَ بَينَ سُطورِها

مَنظومَ تاجِ القَيصَرِ

And you let flow between its lines

The rhythm of the crown of Caesar

وَخَبَأتَ في أَلفاظِها

مِن كُلِّ مَعنىً مُسكِرِ

And you hid in its words

Of every intoxicating meaning

فَتَرى المَعاني الفارِسِي

يَةَ في مَغاني الأَسطُرِ

So you see the Persian meanings

In the melodies of the lines

كَالغانِياتِ تَقَنَّعَت

خَوفَ المُريبِ المُجتَري

Like singers masked

Fearing the frightening intruder

مَعنىً أَلَذُّ مِنَ الشَما

تَةِ بِالعَدُوِّ المُدبِرِ

A meaning more delicious than whispering

To the retreating enemy

أَو مِن عِتابٍ بَينَ مَح

بوبٍ وَحِبٍّ مُعذِرِ

Or than the reproach between

A beloved and an apologizing lover

أَو فَترَةٍ أَضاعَها ال

قامِرُ عِندَ المَيسِرِ

Or a pause wasted by the gambler

At winning time

أَو مَجلِسٍ لِلخَمرِ مَع

قودٍ بِيَومٍ مُمطِرِ

Or an assembly for wine during

A rainy day

تِسعونَ بَيتاً شِدتَها

فَوقَ سِنانِ السَمهَري

Ninety verses whose sharpness

Transcends the fangs of Samhar

وَالسَمهَرِيُّ قَلَمٌ

في كَفِّ لَيثٍ قَسوَرِ

And Samhar's pen is

In the grip of a fierce lion

أَفَتى القَوافي كَيفَ أَن

تَ فَقَد أَطَلتَ تَحَسُّري

So the rhymes have ruled how

You have made me long in sorrow

أَتُرى أَراكَ أَمِ اللِقا

ءُ يَكونُ يَومَ المَحشَرِ

Will I ever see you or will

The meeting be on Judgement Day

ما كانَ ظَنّي أَن تَعي

شَ أَيا لَئيمَ المَكسِرِ

Never did I think you would live

O mean breaker

وَلَقَد قُذِفتَ إِلى الجَحي

مِ وَبِئسَ عُقبى المُنكَرِ

And indeed you were thrown into the abyss, evil is the end of the wicked

By God, if you were Plato of those eras

تَاللَهِ لَو أَصبَحتَ أَف

لاطونَ تِلكَ الأَعصُرِ

And Hippocrates became in the morning, at your door, like the destitute

And you surpassed Galen or

وَغَدا أَبُقراطَ بِبا

بِكَ كَالعَديمِ المُعسِرِ

Luqman among the civilized

You would only be contemptible in manners

وَبَرَعتَ جالينوسَ أَو

لُقمانَ بَينَ الحُضَّرِ

Among the congregation

May God forgive me, for I

ما كُنتَ إِلّا تافِهَ ال

آدابِ عِندَ المَعشَرِ

Cleared him of his darkness and he came to us like the stupid

A face without face, a stature never exalted

غُفرانَكَ اللَهُمَّ إِن

ني مِن ظُلامَتِهِ بَري

And of wonders that the like of his tongue was not severed

How often he hugged leprosy and came up with abhorrent matters

سَوَّيتَهُ كَالكَركَدَن

نِ وَجاءَنا كَالأَخدَري

So do to him, O Lord, as You did to

Nimrod, for he is confused by it

وَجهٌ وَلا وَجهُ الخُطو

بِ وَقامَةٌ لَم تُشبَرِ

And send down wrath upon him if

He lives until evening without repenting

وَمِنَ العَجائِبِ أَنَّ مِث

لَ لِسانِهِ لَم يُبتَرِ

For he is the one who invented usury

And established pillars of immorality

كَم باتَ يَلتَحِمُ العُرو

ضَ وَجاءَ بِالأَمرِ الفَري

And established the religion of worshipping

Money openly

فَاِفعَل بِهِ اللَهُمَّ كَال

نَمروذِ فَهوَ بِها حَري

And I wondered at his stinginess

And his miserly palm

وَاِنزِل عَلَيهِ السُخطَ إِن

أَمسى وَلَم يَستَغفِرِ

He does not spend coins

Unless forced, without a choice

فَهوَ الَّذي اِبتَدَعَ الرِبا

وَأَقامَ رُكنَ الفُجَّرِ

If it were possible for him

To live without pretension

وَأَقامَ دينَ عِبادَةِ ال

دينارِ بَينَ الأَظهُرِ

He would have chosen to close

The two openings, and said "O pocket, beware!"

وَلَقَد عَجِبتُ لِبُخلِهِ

وَلِكَفِّهِ المُستَحجِرِ

لا يَصرِفُ السُحتوتَ إِل

لا وَهوَ غَيرُ مُخَيَّرِ

لَو أَنَّ في إِمكانِهِ

عَيشاً بِغَيرِ تَضَوُّرِ

لَاِختارَ سَدَّ الفَتحَتَي

نِ وَقالَ يا جَيبُ اِحذَرِ