دَخَلتُ مِصرَ غَنِيّاً
وَلَيسَ حالي بِخافِ
I entered Egypt wealthy
My state was not deficient
عُشرونَ حِملَ حَريرٍ
وَمِثلُ ذاكَ نَصافي
Twenty loads of silk
And the like of fine textiles
وَجُملَةٌ مِن لَآلٍ
وَجَوهَرٍ شَفّافِ
And a lot of rubies
And transparent gems
وَلي مَماليكُ تُركٌ
مِنَ المِلاحِ النِظافِ
And I had Turkic Mamluks
From the most hygienic people
فَرُحتُ أَبسُطُ كَفّي
وَبِالجَزيلِ أُكافي
So I was happy spreading my palm
And being generous with plenty
وَصِرتُ أَجمَعُ شَملي
بِسالِفٍ وَسُلافِ
And I started gathering my affairs
With past and future
وَلا أَزالُ أُواخي
وَلا أَزالُ أُصافي
And I still fraternize
And I still socialize
وَصارَ لي حُرَفاءٌ
كانوا تَمامَ حِرافي
And I got customers
Who were the essence of nobility
وَكُلَّ يَومٍ خِوانٌ
مِنَ الجِدا وَالخِرافِ
And every day brothers
From the new and the old
فَبِعتُ كُلَّ ثَمينٍ
مَعي مِنَ الأَصنافِ
So I sold all the precious things
I had from the varieties
وَاِستَهلَكَ البَيعُ حَتّى
طَرّاحَتي وَلِحافي
And the sale kept going until
My mattress and blanket were gone
صَرَفتُ ذاكَ جَميعاً
بِمِصرَ قَبلَ اِنصِرافي
I spent all that
In Egypt before my departure
وَصِرتُ فيها فَقيراً
مِن ثَروَتي وَعَفافي
And I became poor in it
From my wealth and chastity
وَذا خُروجي منها
جَوعانَ عُريانَ حافي
And this is my exit from it
Hungry, naked, barefoot