1. يا ذا الذي ضنَّ بمعروفه

    عني وقد قاسيت فيه الأرقْ

    O you who have withheld your kindness

    From me, though I have suffered sleeplessness over it.

  2. أقلنيَ العثرة إني امرؤٌ

    ما زلت في الصحو كثير الزلق

    Pardon my stumble, for I am a man

    Who has always been prone to slipping, even when sober.

  3. رضيت مما كنت أمَّلته

    بأجر وراقي وغُرمِ الورق

    Of what I had hoped for, I am content

    With my copyist's fee and the cost of the paper.

  4. فاجعلهما حظي وعجِّلهما

    وارض من المطل بما قد سبق

    So make these two my share, and pay them promptly,

    And be content with the delay already past.

  5. إن جديد المطل مستقبح

    وأقبح المطلين مطل خلق

    For a fresh delay is deemed ugly,

    And uglier of the two is a delay grown old.

  6. ولست أهجوك بشيء سوى

    إنشاد شعري فيك وسط الحَلَق

    And I will not lampoon you with anything but

    Reciting my poetry about you amid the gatherings,

  7. وأن إذا استخبر مستخبرٌ

    ما ثوَّبَ المادح قلت القلق

    And, whenever an inquirer asks,

    'What reward did he give the praise-poet?' I say, 'Anxiety.'