ألاَ ليْسَت الدنْيَا بدار فلاحِ

ألاَ ليْسَت الدنْيَا بدار فلاحِ

بِعَيْنيْكَ صرعاها مساءَ صباح

بِعَيْنيْكَ صرعاها مساءَ صباح

Indeed, this world is no abode of well-being;

Behold, the world is no abode of prosperity.

before your very eyes lie its fallen, evening and morning.

Before your eyes lie its slain, evening and morning.

لنا من كلا العصرين ساقٍ كلاهُما

لنا من كلا العصرين ساقٍ كلاهُما

يَدُورُ فيسقينا بَكَأسِ ذُبَاحِ

يَدُورُ فيسقينا بَكَأسِ ذُبَاحِ

At the day’s two ends, we have a cupbearer; both of them

From each of the two times we have a cupbearer; both

circle round, making us drink from a death-dealing cup.

Go round, giving us a cup of choking death.

أُرانِي وأُمّي بعد فِقْداَنِ أُخْتِهَا

أُرانِي وأُمّي بعد فِقْداَنِ أُخْتِهَا

وإنْ كنتُ في رَفْهٍ بها وَصَلاَح

وإنْ كنتُ في رَفْهٍ بها وَصَلاَح

I see myself and my mother, after she lost her sister—

I see myself and my mother, after the loss of her sister,

though through her I had enjoyed ease and well-being—

Though through her I enjoy comfort and well-being,

كَفَرْخ قطاةِ الدَّوّ بانَ جَنَاحُهَا

كَفَرْخ قطاةِ الدَّوّ بانَ جَنَاحُهَا

فباتَ إلى حِصْنٍ بِغَيْرِ جَنَاحِ

فباتَ إلى حِصْنٍ بِغَيْرِ جَنَاحِ

like the chick of a wilderness sandgrouse, her wing gone,

Like the chick of a desert sandgrouse whose wing is gone,

and so, without a wing, it sought a fortress for the night.

So it spent the night beside a refuge, without a wing.