1. قد أطلنا بالباب أمسِ القعودا

    وجُفِينا به جفاءً شديدا

    Yesterday we sat long at the door,

    and there we were treated with harsh disdain.

  2. وذممنا العبيدَ حتى إذا نح

    ن بَلونا الموَلَى عَذَرنا العبيدا

    And we blamed the slaves, until, when we

    tried the master, we excused the slaves.

  3. وعلى موعدِ أتيناك معلو

    م وأمر مُؤكَّدِ تأكيدا

    And we came to you at a specified time,

    and on instructions emphatically confirmed.

  4. فأقمنا لا الإذنُ جاء ولا جا

    ءَ رسولٌ قال انصرفْ مطرودا

    So we stayed: no permission came, nor did

    a messenger come to say, ‘Leave—you are turned away.’

  5. وصبَرنا حتى رأينا قُبيلَ ال

    ظُهر برذونًَ بعضِهم مردودا

    And we endured until we saw, just before

    noon, one of their hackneys being brought back.

  6. واستقرَّ المكانُ بالقوم والغ

    لمانُ في ذاك يمنحونا صدودا

    And the company settled in, while the servant boys

    meanwhile kept bestowing rebuffs upon us.

  7. ويُشيرون بالمضيّ فلمّا

    أُحرجوا جرَّدوا لنا تجريدا

    And they gestured for us to go; then, when

    pressed, they drew their blades against us outright.

  8. فانصرفنا في ساعةٍ لو طرحت ال

    لَّحمَ فيها نيّاً كُفيتَ الوقودا

    So we departed at an hour when, had you cast

    raw meat into it, you would have needed no fuel.

  9. فلعمري لقد كنت تعتدّ لي ذن

    باً عظيماً وكنتَ فظّاً حقودا

    For, by my life, you surely held against me a

    grievous sin, and were harsh and vindictive.

  10. وطلبتَ المزيدَ في عذابِ

    فوق هذا لَمَا وَجدتَ مزيدا

    And had you sought still greater torment

    beyond this, you would have found no more.

  11. كأنَ ظني بك الجميلَ فألفي

    تُكَ من كلِّ ما ظننتُ بعيدا

    My opinion of you was good, yet I found

    you far from all that I had imagined.

  12. فعليكَ السلامُ تسليمَ من لا

    يضمن الدهرَ بعدها أن يعودا

    So peace be upon you—the farewell of one who does not

    ever guarantee that he will return after this.