أَضرَبتَ صَفحاً إِذ أَتَتكَ صَحيفَتي

أَضرَبتَ صَفحاً إِذ أَتَتكَ صَحيفَتي

فَطَوَيتَ كَشحاً عِندَ رَدَّ رَسائِلي

فَطَوَيتَ كَشحاً عِندَ رَدَّ رَسائِلي

You turned your face away when my letter reached you;

You turned away when my messages reached you

And turned your flank aside when it came to answering my letters.

So you folded your arms when I wrote back to you

أَظَنَنتَ كُلَّ الرَدِّ يَقبُحُ فِعلُهُ

أَظَنَنتَ كُلَّ الرَدِّ يَقبُحُ فِعلُهُ

رَدُّ الجَوابِ خِلافُ رَدِّ السائِلِ

رَدُّ الجَوابِ خِلافُ رَدِّ السائِلِ

Did you think every act of returning was reprehensible?

You thought any response was unpleasant

Returning an answer is unlike turning a supplicant away.

But answering is not the same as turning away the questioner