1. خِوانُ عيسى من نصف ترمسةٍ

    وصحفتاه من فِلْقتي عدَسَهْ

    Isa's dining table is made from half a lupin seed,

    and his two dishes from the two halves of a lentil.

  2. ذلك فضل الإله يمنحُهُ

    من شاء لا ذاك حظ من نَفِسَهْ

    That is God's bounty, which He bestows

    on whomever He wills—no such lot for one who envies him.

  3. من ذَرةٍ ذرة جَرادقه

    تخفى على العين فهْي مُلتمسَهْ

    His flatbreads are a speck of a speck,

    hidden from the eye, so they must be sought out.

  4. لو نُخِلَت بالحريرِ لانسربت

    من خَلَلِ النسج غير محتبسَهْ

    If sifted through silk, they would slip

    through the gaps in the weave, unhindered.

  5. إذا افترستَ الرغيف أنَّ لهُ

    كأن ليثاً هنالك افترسَهْ

    When you seize a loaf as prey, he groans over it,

    as though a lion there had devoured him.

  6. حتى إذا ما طَفِقتَ تأكلهُ

    صَعَّد من فرطِ حسرةٍ نَفَسَهْ

    Then, when you begin to eat it,

    he heaves a sigh from sheer anguish.

  7. كأنما كل لقمةٍ أكلتْ

    منزوعةٌ من يديه مختلسَهْ

    It is as though every morsel eaten

    were wrested from his hands and snatched away.

  8. مغَفَّلٌ عن أمور نسوته

    مُذْلٍ على بيت خبزِهِ حَرَسَهْ

    Heedless of his womenfolk's affairs,

    he stations his guards over his bread-store.

  9. يَقتبس الجارُ ناره فيرى

    نار سِراجَي هُداه مقتبَسَهْ

    The neighbor borrows a light from his fire, and he sees

    the fire of his two guiding lamps being borrowed.

  10. وإن رأى أو أحس آونةً

    دخانَ نارٍ لجاره كَبَسَهْ

    And if he ever sees or senses

    smoke from his neighbor's fire, he raids him.