هجرَ الزمانُ وليس لي من ساترٍ

هجرَ الزمانُ وليس لي من ساترٍ

ففررتُ لكنَّ الفرارَ قد انحبسْ

ففررتُ لكنَّ الفرارَ قد انحبسْ

Time forsook me, and I have no protector.

Time has abandoned me with no one to shelter me

So I fled, but escape had been blocked.

So I fled, but escape was denied to me

فأُخِذتُ مأسوراً وقد مانعتُه

فأُخِذتُ مأسوراً وقد مانعتُه

فاغتالني فكأنَّ كَشِّي بالفرسْ

فاغتالني فكأنَّ كَشِّي بالفرسْ

Then I was taken captive, though I had resisted it.

Then I was seized, though I resisted capture

So it slew me by stealth, as though I were put in check by a knight.

So it took me by surprise, as if my shackles were cut by a knight's steed