1. مَا لِمُوسَى الشَّريف أصبحَ يُبْدي

    بعد ذاك الإقْبالِ هَجْرِي وَصَدِّي

    What ails Musa al-Sharif, that he now displays

    after that warmth, abandonment of me and aversion to me?

  2. ما كَفَى أنَّه أرادَ لي الكَيْـ

    ـدَ مِراراً ولم يَنَلْ غيرَ وَجْدِ

    Was it not enough that he sought to plot against me

    time and again, and gained nothing but anguish?

  3. زارَ دارَ النَّقيبِ ذِي الفضْلِ مَن أوْ

    صافُهُ الغُرُّ ليس تُحْصَى بِعَدِّ

    He visited the house of the virtuous chief, whose

    radiant qualities are beyond counting,

  4. ذي المَعالِي والمكرُماتِ حِجازِي

    مَن غَدَا في الأنامِ من غَيْرِ نِدِّ

    possessor of high distinction and noble deeds, Hijazi,

    who has become peerless among mankind.

  5. سيِّدٌ جودُه لو اقْتسمَتْهُ النَّا

    سُ طُرّاً لم تَلْقَ طالِبَ رِفْدِ

    A lord whose bounty, were it shared by the

    people, all of them, would leave you no seeker of aid.

  6. الجليلُ الشَّهيرُ بابْن قَضِيبِ الْـ

    ـبانِ لازال لِلْورَى بَدْرَ سَعْدِ

    The illustrious man, renowned as Ibn Qadib al-

    Ban—may he ever be mankind's full moon of good fortune.

  7. واشتكى عنده وذمَّ ولكنْ

    ذَمُّ مِثْلِي مِن مثْلِه ليس يُجْدِي

    And he complained before him and disparaged me; but

    disparagement of one like me by one like him is futile.

  8. شاتِماً مِلْءَ فِيهِ في مَعْرِضِ الهَزْ

    لِ وَوَاللهِ لم يَرُمْ غَيْر جِدِّ

    Reviling me with a mouthful of insults, in the guise of

    jesting—yet, by God, he intended nothing but earnestness.

  9. مُسْبِلاً دَمْعَهُ كأنَّ حبِيباً

    بعد قُرْبٍ رَماهُ منه ببُعْدِ

    Letting his tears flow, as though a beloved

    after closeness, had cast him into estrangement.

  10. مُبدِياً من حَرارةِ القَهْرِ ما لَوْ

    حَلَّت الكوْنَ لم يكُنْ كُنْهَ بَرْدِ

    Showing such heat of vexation that, if it

    settled in the universe, no true coolness would remain.

  11. وبدا مُغْرَماً كأن بِشَتْمِي

    آدَمِياً غَدا بُصُورةِ قِرْدِ

    And he seemed obsessed, as though, by reviling me,

    a human being had taken on a monkey's form.

  12. والَّذي أوْجَبَ التَّخاصُمَ أنِّي

    كنتُ قِدْماً مَنَحْتُه صَفْوَ وُدِّي

    And what caused the quarrel was that I

    had long ago bestowed on him my pure affection.

  13. ثُمَّ كَلَّتْ فريحتي عن مَدِيحٍ

    فاسْتعارَتْ له حَدِيقةَ حَمْدِ

    Then my poetic gift grew weary of praise,

    so it borrowed for him a garden of praise.

  14. ورآهَا مِن بَعْدِ حَوْلٍ وشَهْرَيْ

    ن بدَرْجٍ قد كان مِن قبلُ عندي

    And he saw it after a year and two

    months, in a scroll that had once been with me.

  15. فبَدا منه ما بَدا وسَقانِي

    وتَحَسَّي من أكْؤْسِ الذَّمِّ وِرْدِي

    So he showed what he showed, and made me drink,

    and sipped my draught from the cups of disparagement.

  16. وعَلَى كلِّ حالةٍ سيِّدُ الأحْـ

    ـكامِ أرْجُو وما سِواهُ تَعدِّ

    And in every circumstance, the master of

    judgments is my hope; anything beyond him is overstepping.