1. خليليَّ مَا جانبت قومي عن قِلىَ

    ولا عنْ ملالٍ حار فكري فيه

    My two friends, I did not shun my people out of hatred,

    nor out of weariness that left my mind bewildered.

  2. ولالى بالقيل اليماني عائض

    وأيُّ أب للطفلٍ مثلُ أبيه

    Nor have I a substitute for the Yemeni chieftain;

    and what father can equal a child's own father?

  3. ولكنْ مقالٌ من سفيهٍ مُذَمَّمِ

    وحَاشاكَ أن ترضى مقال سفيه

    Rather, it was words from a blameworthy fool—

    and far be it from you to approve a fool's words—

  4. وتشبيهُ أقوامٍ عليَّ أباطلاً

    وفي النّاس للانسان رُبّ شبيه

    and some people's attributing falsehoods to me;

    among people, a person has many a likeness.

  5. قصائدُ لا بن الشيزري نظامُها

    ولابن مُحيَّا الخطّ وُهو يليه

    Poems whose composer is Ibn al-Shayzari,

    and whose handwriting is Ibn Muhayya's, who follows him.

  6. وأنشدهُنّ الزيلعي نظامُها

    وايّةُ تلميذ لايّ فقيه

    Their composer recited them to al-Zayla'i—

    and what a pupil of what a jurist!

  7. مكائد تنسى كيدَ اخوة يوسفٍ

    ورهنَ ابنِ يامين وبيع أخيه

    Schemes that make one forget the scheming of Joseph's brothers,

    and Benjamin's detention as a pledge, and his brother's sale.

  8. فلما رأيت الأمر وعراً سلوكه

    ونام عن التمييز كل نبيه

    So when I saw how rough this affair was to navigate,

    and every discerning man slept, heedless of discernment,

  9. عَزَفتُ عن الشعب اليماني ناقتي

    وقلتُ لها يا ناق لا ترديه

    I turned my she-camel away from the Yemeni mountain pass,

    and told her, 'O she-camel, do not enter it.'

  10. لقد عَقَّني من كنتُ قِدماً أبرُّه

    وأسْلَمني مَنْ بالضلوع أقيه

    Indeed, one I had formerly treated kindly has been ungrateful to me,

    and one I shield with my ribs has forsaken me.

  11. وكيفَ يجبُّ المرءُ مارنَ أنفِه

    وكيف يخون المرءُ عهدَ ذويه

    And how can a man sever the soft part of his own nose?

    And how can a man betray his covenant with his kin?

  12. فيا عينُ أن ربعٌ عفى فتجلدي

    ويا نفسُ إن خِلٌّ جَفى فدعيه

    So, O eye, if a dwelling has faded away, be steadfast;

    and O soul, if a dear friend turns away, let him go.

  13. إذا حَلّ ذو نقص محلةَ فاضل

    واصبح رَبُّ الجاه غيرَ وجيه

    When a man of shortcomings takes a worthy man's place,

    and a man of standing is no longer esteemed,

  14. فان حياة المرءِ غيرُ شهيّة

    إليه وطعمَ الموت غير كريه

    then a man's life is not desirable

    to him, and the taste of death is not repugnant.