وقالوا حسبْتَ الشيبَ سيفاً مفرّقاً

وقالوا حسبْتَ الشيبَ سيفاً مفرّقاً

فأغمدتُهُ بالصبغِ إذْ كانَ مسلولا

فأغمدتُهُ بالصبغِ إذْ كانَ مسلولا

And they said: You thought gray hair a sundering sword.

They said you thought of old age as a drawn sword

So I sheathed it with dye, since it was drawn.

So I sheathed it with dye though bared it had been

فقلتُ لهم ما القصدُ هذا وإنما

فقلتُ لهم ما القصدُ هذا وإنما

لئلاّ يقولوا شيخُ سوءٍ وقد قيلا

لئلاّ يقولوا شيخُ سوءٍ وقد قيلا

So I said to them: That was not my purpose; it was only

I said to them, it's not meant thus, but rather

lest they say, “An evil old man”—and it has already been said.

Lest they say an evil elder, as was said