وقالوا حسبْتَ الشيبَ سيفاً مفرّقاً

فأغمدتُهُ بالصبغِ إذْ كانَ مسلولا

They said you thought of old age as a drawn sword

So I sheathed it with dye though bared it had been

فقلتُ لهم ما القصدُ هذا وإنما

لئلاّ يقولوا شيخُ سوءٍ وقد قيلا

I said to them, it's not meant thus, but rather

Lest they say an evil elder, as was said