وَكثنَّا كَزَوجٍ مِن قَطَا في مَفَازَةٍ

وَكثنَّا كَزَوجٍ مِن قَطَا في مَفَازَةٍ

لَدَى خَفضِ عَيشٍ ناعِمٍ مُونِقٍ رَغدِ

لَدَى خَفضِ عَيشٍ ناعِمٍ مُونِقٍ رَغدِ

We were like a pair of sandgrouse in a desert waste,

And we were like a pair of sandgrouse in a desert,

amid the ease of a life—gentle, delightful, and abundant.

amid an easy, comfortable, delightful life of plenty.

فأفرَدَني رَيبُ الزَّمَانِ بِصَرفِهِ

فأفرَدَني رَيبُ الزَّمَانِ بِصَرفِهِ

ولم أرَ شيئاً قَطُّ أوحَشَ مِن فَردِ

ولم أرَ شيئاً قَطُّ أوحَشَ مِن فَردِ

Then time’s misfortune, through its reversals, left me alone,

Then the misfortunes of time, through its reversals, left me alone;

and never have I seen anything lonelier than one left solitary.

and I have never seen anything lonelier than one alone.