إِلَى أَنْ جَدَحَتْ لَهُ يَدُ الْإِمْلَاقِ كَأْسَ الْفِرَاقِ
Until the hand of poverty stirred for him the cup of separation.
Al-imlāq / al-firāq share the ringing final -āq, but their relation is causal: poverty brings separation. The hands of poverty preparing a cup of parting animate the event, making departure feel imposed rather than merely chosen.
Sound, metaphor, and narrative causation cooperate. A reader who only circles matching letters misses the important question: why did the companion leave? The best reading recovers both the shared cadence and the pressure of circumstances behind it.
PatternLiterary roleimlāq / firāqPoverty causes partingirfāq / āfāqLack of support leads to distant travel