1. Time has two colors, a third perplexes them,
And how often it came to you in different forms and hues.

2. I do not drink joy sipping its sweet exhilaration,
Reason is the best of my supporters and aides.

3. If he who courts this world knew it,
He would wish it upon an enemy, not brothers.

4. And if fear of the torment of God in the hereafter prevents me,
I do not strive for the bliss of His pleasure.

5. Sustenance is apportioned, so do not blame me for what I lack,
Nor does devotion in hardship humiliate me.

6. Sihân's water is sweet, its source not
Brackish like Zamzam's or a Suluwwân spring.

7. People are like the structure of poetry, how many a man
Ransomed by the army, how many a poem by the dîwân.

8. The briefest time is an eon, then decree
Of the ancients destroys it with eons.

9. If good fortune comes to me undeserved,
Like the grace of Keywân, God I hope for the Lord of Keywân.