وأنعظ أحياناً فينقد جلده

وأنعظ أحياناً فينقد جلده

وأعذله جهدي فلا ينفع العذل

وأعذله جهدي فلا ينفع العذل

And sometimes I get an erection, and its skin splits.

I sometimes admonish him, then he sheds his skin,

And I rebuke it as best I can, but reproach does no good.

And I excuse him with my efforts, but excuses are futile.

وأزداد نعظاً حين أبصر جارتي

وأزداد نعظاً حين أبصر جارتي

فأوثقه كما يثوب له عقل

فأوثقه كما يثوب له عقل

And I grow more erect when I see my female neighbor.

I admonish more when I see my neighbor,

So I bind it, so that some sense may return to it.

So I restrain him as his mind clothes him.

وربتما لم أدر ما حيلتي له

وربتما لم أدر ما حيلتي له

إذا هو آذاني وغر به الجهل

إذا هو آذاني وغر به الجهل

And often I did not know what to do with it,

Sometimes I do not know what trick to use on him,

When it hurt me and folly exposed it to danger.

When he harms me and ignorance makes him bold.

فآويته في بطن جاري وجارتي

فآويته في بطن جاري وجارتي

مكابرة قدما وإن رغم البعل

مكابرة قدما وإن رغم البعل

So I lodged it in the belly of my male neighbor and my female neighbor,

So I take shelter in the belly of my neighbor,

Defiantly, boldly onward, even against the husband's will.

Stubbornly going ahead though the husband objects.