لَقَد عَلِمتُ وَمالي ما أَعيشُ بِهِ

لَقَد عَلِمتُ وَمالي ما أَعيشُ بِهِ

أَنَّ الَّتي أَدرَكَتني حِرفَةُ الأَدَبِ

أَنَّ الَّتي أَدرَكَتني حِرفَةُ الأَدَبِ

I know full well, with nothing to live on,

I have learned though I know not how I live

that what has overtaken me is the ill fortune of letters.

That literature which found me is my craft