1. طربتُ بعهدِ الصبا بعد ما

    سقيتُ بنارِ الأسى والحرب

    I thrilled to the days of youth, after

    I had been made to drink the fire of sorrow and deprivation.

  2. وحمَّر ذهني بياضُ المشيب

    فها أنا فيهِ الشفا والطرب

    And the whiteness of gray hair made an ass of my mind;

    So here I am: in it are healing and delight.

  3. ولولا الهنَا بزمانِ الرَّئيس

    أمين العلا هدَّ حالِي العطب

    Were it not for joy in the time of the chief,

    The guardian of glory, ruin would have shattered my condition.

  4. ومقدمه من حمى المَرْجِ قد

    شفاني من هرجِ مرج الكرب

    And his arrival from the sanctuary of al-Marj has

    Healed me of distress's turmoil and confusion.

  5. يُوَقِّرِني ودّه لا جفا

    ويرْوي الصدى بره لا نضَب

    His affection, not estrangement, honors me;

    And his kindness quenches thirst, never running dry.

  6. دعانِي شيخاً رضا سيِّدي

    فهذَّبني غيظه المقتضب

    My master's favor called me an elder;

    So his curt anger refined me.

  7. فأحسنَ لي في الوفا والجفا

    وشيَّخني في الرِّضا والغضب

    Thus he treated me well in faithfulness and estrangement,

    And made me an elder in favor and anger.