يا سماء اسقطي ويا أرض ميدي

قد تولى الوزارة ابن البريدي

O sky, fall! And O earth, quake!

Ibn al-Baridi has assumed the vizierate.

جل خطب وحل أمر عضال

وبلاء أشاب رأس الوليد

A calamity has grown immense, and an intractable ordeal has befallen,

And an affliction that has turned a newborn's head gray.

هد ركن الإسلام وانتهك المل

ك ومحيت آثاره فهو مودي

It has shattered Islam's pillar and violated sovereignty;

And its traces have been erased, so it is perishing.

اخلقت بهجة الزمان كما أن

هج طول اللباس وشي البرود

The splendor of the age has worn away, just as

Long wear has worn out the patterned weave of striped cloaks.

يا لقومي لحر صدري وعولي

وغليلي وقلبي المعمود

O my people, help me with the burning in my breast and my wailing,

And my burning anguish, and my stricken heart,

حين سار الخميس يوم خميس

بالبريدي في ثياب سود

When the army marched on a Thursday,

With al-Baridi in black garments.

قد حباه بها الإمام اصطفاء

واعتمادا منه لغير عميد

The Imam had bestowed them upon him as a mark of favor,

And in reliance, on his part, upon one who is no dependable leader.

خلع تخلع العلا ولواء

عقدة حل عقدة المعقود

Robes of honor that strip away glory, and a banner

Whose knot undoes the knot already tied.

وتوهمت أن سيخدعه ذا

ك فيغتاله اصطياد الصيود

And you imagined that that would deceive him,

And thus kill him by stealth, as game is trapped.

هو أزنى مما تقدر أما

ليس ممن يصاد بالتقليد

He is more lecherous than you reckon—indeed,

He is not one to be trapped by investiture.