1. Abu Shuraih, do not let our parting grieve you,
For man is hostage to the vicissitudes of fate.

2. Grief has long been our precedent, as we know,
Among the ancestors and nations of old.

3. Of them I saw with my eyes, or heard related,
Tales not only of Aad and of Iram,

4. But apart from those, many a king and envy
Perished and were but like shadows and dreams.