1. أَلا يا بَني الآدابِ ما العُذرُ عَن ذَنبي

    إِذا لَم يَكُن لِلشِعرِ بُدٌّ مِنَ العَتبِ

    Listen, sons of letters: what excuse is there for my sin,

    if poetry cannot escape reproach?

  2. لِأَنِّيَ لَمّا صُغتُهُ وَنَظَمتُهُ

    مَدَحتُ بِهِ مَن ما خَلا قَطُّ مِن سَبّي

    For when I fashioned it and strung it together,

    I praised with it one never spared my abuse:

  3. خَسيساً مِنَ القَوّادِ قُدتُ قَصائِدي

    إِلَيهِ فَما كانَ اِنتِجاعي إِلى خَصبِ

    a base man among the commanders—I drove my odes

    to him; but my quest for pasture led to no fertile ground.

  4. حَمَلتُ عَلى أَكوارِها كُلَّ مُعجِزٍ

    مِنَ الجَوهَرِ الشَفّافِ وَالذَهَبِ الرَطبِ

    Upon their camel-saddles I loaded every marvel

    of translucent jewels and supple gold.

  5. فَلَمّا دَنَت مِن فَهمِهِ ضاعَ وَخدُها

    وَما حَصَلَت مِنهُ عَلى مَنزِلٍ رَحبِ

    But when they neared his understanding, their swift strides were wasted,

    and they received no spacious lodging from him.

  6. كَذَبتُ عَليهِ في الَّذي جِئتُهُ بِهِ

    فَعوقِبتُ بِالحِرمانِ مِن جَهَةِ الكَذِبِ

    I lied about him in what I brought him,

    so I was punished with deprivation for lying.

  7. فَتَبّاً لِدُنيا أَحوَجَتني لِمِثلِهِ

    فَكَم أَسَدٍ قَد أَحوَجَتهُ إِلى كَلبِ

    So damn the world that made me need his like—

    for how many a lion has it made dependent on a dog!