1. You seek out tales,
Preoccupied with what you see,
١. أَنْتَ تَبْغِي السِّيَرَا
شَاغِلاً عَمَّا تَرَى
2. Preferring to know the
Flow of events to what has passed,
٢. مُؤْثِراً أَنْ تَعْلَمَ الـ
ـجَارِي مِمَّا قَدْ جَرَى
3. Content with knowledge
That does not exceed the news.
٣. رَاضِياً مِنْ خِبْرَةٍ
أَنْ لا تَجُوزَ الخَبَرَا
4. So if I chance to have
Good luck one day,
٤. فَإِذَا مَا كَانَ لِي
حُسْنُ حَظٍّ قُدِّرَا
5. You’d enjoy a tale whose
Telling I’d excuse
٥. طِبْتَ نَفْساً لِحَدِيـ
ـثٍ سُقْتُهُ مُعْتَذِرا
6. As time sweetly passed whenever
You cast your eyes upon it.
٦. عَاطِلٍ يَحْلَى مَتَى
تُلْقِي عَلَيْهِ نَظَرَ