How can I complain to greed about spreading my hands to beg, when it replies that I have disgraced myself in the world by my own actions.

In this couplet, the poet engages in a brilliant conversation with his own desire or greed. When he tries to blame this craving for forcing him to stretch out a begging hand, desire cleverly turns the mirror right back at him. Playing on the idea of 'hands', it retorts that this disgrace is purely self-inflicted—a gentle yet sharp reminder that we cannot scapegoat our desires for the indignities we willingly bring upon ourselves.