يا مَن دَعاني وَفَرَّ مِنّي

يا مَن دَعاني وَفَرَّ مِنّي

أَخلَفتَ وَاللَهِ حُسنَ ظَنّي

أَخلَفتَ وَاللَهِ حُسنَ ظَنّي

O you who invited me and fled from me,

O you who called me and then fled from me,

By God, you have belied my good opinion of you.

You have, by Allah, betrayed my good opinion.

قَد كُنتُ أَرضى بِخُبزِ رُزٍّ

قَد كُنتُ أَرضى بِخُبزِ رُزٍّ

وَمالِحٍ أَو قَليلِ بُنِّ

وَمالِحٍ أَو قَليلِ بُنِّ

I would have been content with rice bread,

I would have been content with bread and salt,

And salted fish, or a little bunn fish,

Or a little dried dates,

وَسَكرَةٍ مِن نَبيذِ دِبسٍ

وَسَكرَةٍ مِن نَبيذِ دِبسٍ

أَقامَ يَوماً بِعُقرِ دَنِّ

أَقامَ يَوماً بِعُقرِ دَنِّ

And a bout of drunkenness from molasses wine

And a draft of fermented date wine

That had spent a day at the bottom of a wine jar.

That would lodge for a day in the upper part of a waterskin.

فَكَيفَ يَغلو بِما ذَكَرنا

فَكَيفَ يَغلو بِما ذَكَرنا

مُساعِدٌ شاعِرٌ مُغَنّي

مُساعِدٌ شاعِرٌ مُغَنّي

So how, with what we have mentioned, could he be costly—

How then could the gifts I mentioned

A helpful companion, a poet, a singer?

Be excessive for a helpful poet and singer?