بَينا أُحَبِّرُ مَدحاً عادَ مَرثِيَةً

بَينا أُحَبِّرُ مَدحاً عادَ مَرثِيَةً

هَذا لَعَمريَ شَرٌّ دينُهُ عِدَدُ

هَذا لَعَمريَ شَرٌّ دينُهُ عِدَدُ

While I was crafting a poem of praise, it turned into an elegy.

While I compose praise, it turns into elegy

This, by my life, is an evil whose ways are manifold.

This, by my life, is an evil whose religion is counting