أَشكو إِلى اللَهِ حَماتي فَما

يَعلَمُ ما لاقَيتُ مِنها سِواه

I complain to Allah about my mother-in-law though

None knows what I have suffered from her but He.

عَجوزُ سوءٍ لَو رَأَت قودَةً

في النسرِ طارَت بِجَناحَي قَطاه

An evil old hag, if she saw a vulture

She would fly up with the wings of an eagle.

تَقولُ لِلبِنتِ الطَمي خَدَّهُ

وَلا تَهابيهِ وَصُكّي قَفاه

She says to her ugly daughter, “Slap his cheek

And fear him not, but pummel his skull.”

وَلَيَّني بِالمُخِّ أَخلاقَهُ

وَضَمّخي لِحيَتَهُ مِن حَراه

“Demean him with slyness, corrode his nature,

Smear his beard with pus and blood and gore.”

وَباهِتيهِ إِن رَأى ريبَةً

وَابكي وَسُبّيهِ وَسُبّي أَباه

“If you see him annoyed, start crying and wailing

Curse him and curse his father in your bawling.”

وَاللَهِ لا أُفلِحُ ما عُمِّرَت

قُل لي مَتى أَفلَحَ صاحِبُ حَماه

By Allah! I'll never prosper as long as I live

Tell me, when does one with a mother-in-law thrive?