طَوَّلتَ يا دَولعي فَقَصِّر

طَوَّلتَ يا دَولعي فَقَصِّر

وَأَنتَ في غَيرِ ذا مُقَصِّر

وَأَنتَ في غَيرِ ذا مُقَصِّر

You have gone on too long, O Dawlaʿī, so cut it short!

You've been long-winded, so keep it short

Yet in other matters you fall short.

Though you're not one to fall short elsewhere

خَطابَةٌ كُلُّها خُطوبٌ

خَطابَةٌ كُلُّها خُطوبٌ

وَبَعضُها لِلوَرى مُنَفِّر

وَبَعضُها لِلوَرى مُنَفِّر

Oratory that is nothing but calamities,

It's all just verbiage, every bit

and some of it drives people away.

Some of which the people find offensive

تَظَلُّ تَهدي وَلَستَ تَدري

تَظَلُّ تَهدي وَلَستَ تَدري

كَأَنَّكَ المَغرِبِيّ المُفَسِّر

كَأَنَّكَ المَغرِبِيّ المُفَسِّر

You keep guiding, yet you do not know,

You keep offering while not knowing

as though you were al-Maghribī, the commentator.

As though you were some interpreter