1. مَّا الخلى والمسحُ ، إنْ كانَ منَّةً

    عليَّ ، فإِنّي غَيرُ خالٍ وماسِحِ

    As for deceit and flattery, if they count as a favor

    to me, I am neither a deceiver nor a flatterer.

  2. وأَمَّا مَعاذِيرُ الصَّدِيقِ فإِنَّني

    سأَبلُغُها ، إِنْ كنتَ لَستَ بفاصِحِ

    And as for a friend's excuses, I

    shall grasp them, if you cannot speak plainly.

  3. وذِي مِئرةٍ مِنَ الصَّديقِ اجتنَبتُهُ

    وآخرَ ، قد جاملتهُ وهوَ كاشحُ

    And one harboring rancor among friends I avoided;

    another I treated courteously, though he concealed hostility.

  4. تحمَّلتهْ عمداً ، لأفضلَ ، بعدما

    بَدَتْ اُبَنٌ في ساقِهِ وقَوادِحُ

    I endured him deliberately, to show generosity, after

    knots and wood-borers appeared in his trunk.

  5. ومُهتَزعٍ حالاً ولُؤمَ خَلِيقةٍ

    صَقَعتُ ، بِشَرِّ ، والأَكفُّ لواقِح

    And one unsettled in fortune and base in character

    I struck with harm, while palms were pregnant.