1. الدَهرُ لا تَبقى عَلَيهِ نَعامَةٌ

    سَهلاً تَحُلُّ وَتَتَّقي أَجرالَها

    No ostrich outlasts Time,

    Dwelling on level ground and avoiding its rocky tracts.

  2. وَوَرى لَها بَرقٌ فَهاجَ زَفيفَها

    أُدَحِيَّها تَبغي بِذاكَ وَرالَها

    And lightning flashed before her, spurring her swift, wing-flapping run;

    With that rush she seeks her nesting hollow and her chick.

  3. تُلفي بِها رَيبَ الزَمانِ مُوَكَّلاً

    إِن لَم يَزُرها بِالنَهارِ سَرى لَها

    You find Time's calamity set over her:

    If it does not visit her by day, it journeys to her by night.