قل لجار الشط ما هذا الوسخ

قل لجار الشط ما هذا الوسخ

هذه دجلة فاخلع وأنخ

هذه دجلة فاخلع وأنخ

Say to the neighbor by the riverbank: “What is this filth?”

Say to the neighbor of the riverbank, what is this filth?

This is the Tigris; strip and kneel down.

This is the Tigris, so take off your clothes and get down

واغتسل فهي مباح ماؤها

واغتسل فهي مباح ماؤها

غير محظور على الجسم الوسخ

غير محظور على الجسم الوسخ

And bathe, for its water is free to use,

And wash yourself, for its water is permitted

not forbidden to a filthy body.

It is not prohibited on a dirty body

ودع الماء يقاسي درنا

ودع الماء يقاسي درنا

كنت فيه وانج منه منسلخ

كنت فيه وانج منه منسلخ

And let the water endure the grime

And let the water endure our weight

you were steeped in; escape it, sloughing it off.

You were in it and got out of it stripped bare

غير عار أن تراها جمة

غير عار أن تراها جمة

لك والأشنان من رمل السبخ

لك والأشنان من رمل السبخ

It is no disgrace to see it plentiful

It is no shame for you to see it turbid

for you; and saltwort comes from the salt-flat sand.

For you, while the reeds are of the arid desert

قد تعرضت لصل مطرق

قد تعرضت لصل مطرق

ينفث السم إذا الصل نفخ

ينفث السم إذا الصل نفخ

You have exposed yourself to an asp with lowered head,

It was exposed to continuous rain

which spits venom whenever the asp exhales.

That spews poison when the rain pours down

ما على الملحي إذ أنصفنا

ما على الملحي إذ أنصفنا

وتوخى الحق إذ قيل توخ

وتوخى الحق إذ قيل توخ

What blame falls on al-Milhi, when he was fair to us

There is no blame on the sailor when we judge fairly

and sought the truth when told, “Seek it”?

And seek the truth when it is said, seek

قلت إذ عاينته محتفلا

قلت إذ عاينته محتفلا

للفتي الأير يا ذل الشيخ

للفتي الأير يا ذل الشيخ

I said, when I saw him lavishing attention

I said when I saw him celebrating

on the virile-cocked man: “Oh, the old man’s disgrace!”

To the young lad, oh the humiliation of the old man

كم له من دعوة صمنا بها

كم له من دعوة صمنا بها

حين عاينا الذي فيها طبخ

حين عاينا الذي فيها طبخ

How many of his feasts we fasted through,

How many supplications have we been deaf to

when we saw what had been cooked there:

When we saw what was being cooked in them

سمك يفلج من أبصره

سمك يفلج من أبصره

وشراب يملأ البطن نفخ

وشراب يملأ البطن نفخ

fish that paralyzes whoever sees it,

Fish that captivates whoever sees it

and drink that fills the belly with wind.

And a drink that fills the stomach with air

منزل فيه لصياد المها

منزل فيه لصياد المها

شرك يدفن في الترب وفخ

شرك يدفن في الترب وفخ

A house where, for the hunter of oryx,

A dwelling in which there are traps for the mother deer

there is a snare buried in the earth, and a trap.

A partnership that buries in the dust and traps

يجد الشرب به إن حصلوا

يجد الشرب به إن حصلوا

نرجسا مات وريحانا مسخ

نرجسا مات وريحانا مسخ

The drinkers find there, if they arrive,

Finding the drink in it, if they succeed

dead narcissus and disfigured basil,

A narcissus that died and basil that withered

وابن ماء درعه جم الصدا

وابن ماء درعه جم الصدا

قد رسا في الملح دهرا ورسخ

قد رسا في الملح دهرا ورسخ

and a son of water, his armor thick with rust,

And a sea son whose armor of beauty settled

who has lain anchored in salt for an age and become firmly lodged;

In the salt for ages and took root

وغزالا يعلق القلب به

وغزالا يعلق القلب به

فإذا أبصره زان ربخ

فإذا أبصره زان ربخ

and a gazelle to whom the heart clings,

And a gazelle that captures the heart

and whenever a fornicator sees him, he swoons.

So when one sees it, it cheers the soul

يصدر العاشق منه معدما

يصدر العاشق منه معدما

ليس في جثمانه عظم ممخ

ليس في جثمانه عظم ممخ

The lover departs from him destitute,

The lover comes out of it destitute

with no marrow-filled bone in his body.

With no sturdy bone left in his body

نزه الكف على صلعته

نزه الكف على صلعته

وعلى اليافوخ وازدد إن شمخ

وعلى اليافوخ وازدد إن شمخ

Take your palm for a stroll across his bald pate,

He stroked his bald head

and over the crown; do more if he grows haughty.

And the temples, and increase if he becomes senile

فإذا ما احتدمت نيرانه

فإذا ما احتدمت نيرانه

فاعرك الأذنين تخمد وتبخ

فاعرك الأذنين تخمد وتبخ

And when his fires flare fiercely,

So when its fires flare up

then wring his ears: the flames will die down and subside.

Rub both ears to subdue and extinguish it