طَوَيْتُ رَجائي عَنْكَ يا دَهْرُ إِنَّني

طَوَيْتُ رَجائي عَنْكَ يا دَهْرُ إِنَّني

أَلوذُ بِظِلٍ مِنْ وَفائِكَ قالصِ

أَلوذُ بِظِلٍ مِنْ وَفائِكَ قالصِ

I have folded away my hope in you, O Time, for I

I have given up hope in you, O Time; indeed, I

seek shelter beneath the shrinking shadow of your faithfulness.

seek refuge in a shrinking shade of your faithfulness.

وَيَرْميكَ ذَمِّي بِالتي لا شَوَى لَها

وَيَرْميكَ ذَمِّي بِالتي لا شَوَى لَها

وَلَيْسَ يَسُوءُ الوَغْدَ لَذْعُ القَوارِصِ

وَلَيْسَ يَسُوءُ الوَغْدَ لَذْعُ القَوارِصِ

My censure shoots you with arrows that never merely graze,

And my censure strikes you with a blow that never misses the vitals;

yet words of admonition do not sting the base man.

yet the sting of biting reproaches does not distress a scoundrel.

وكُلُّ كَريمٍ أَنْتَ آخِرُ رِزْقِهِ

وكُلُّ كَريمٍ أَنْتَ آخِرُ رِزْقِهِ

على عُقَبٍ الحِرْمانِ أَوَّلُ ناكِصِ

على عُقَبٍ الحِرْمانِ أَوَّلُ ناكِصِ

To every noble man, you are the last to provide for him,

And every noble man with you as his last source of sustenance

and the first to recoil in deprivation's wake.

is the first to turn back in deprivation's wake.

تَهيمُ بِمَنْفِيِّ السُّحالَةِ زائِفٍ

تَهيمُ بِمَنْفِيِّ السُّحالَةِ زائِفٍ

وَتُعْرِضُ عَن صَافي السَّبيكَةِ خالِصِ

وَتُعْرِضُ عَن صَافي السَّبيكَةِ خالِصِ

You dote on a counterfeit discarded among the filings,

You are enamored of debased, discarded metal filings,

and turn away from one whose ingot is pure and unalloyed.

and turn away from the pure, unalloyed ingot.

فَلَمْ تَعْلَقِ البَأْسَاءُ إِلّا بِكامِلٍ

فَلَمْ تَعْلَقِ البَأْسَاءُ إِلّا بِكامِلٍ

وَلا عَثَرَ النَّعْماءُ إِلّا بِناقِصِ

وَلا عَثَرَ النَّعْماءُ إِلّا بِناقِصِ

Thus adversity has fastened only upon the complete,

So adversity has clung to none but the perfect,

while prosperity has chanced upon only the deficient.

and prosperity has stumbled upon none but the deficient.