لَولا قَديمٌ مِنْ عَفَافِيَ تَالِد

لَولا قَديمٌ مِنْ عَفَافِيَ تَالِد

وَطَريفُ شَيْبٍ قَدْ ألَمّ حَديثُ

وَطَريفُ شَيْبٍ قَدْ ألَمّ حَديثُ

Were it not for a chastity of mine, ancient and inherited from ages past,

Were it not for my chastity’s longstanding legacy,

And fresh gray hairs, only lately come upon me,

And the newly acquired gray hair that has lately appeared,

لركضْتُ مِن خيلِ الشّبابِ مُعارَهَا

لركضْتُ مِن خيلِ الشّبابِ مُعارَهَا

وَلَكَان لِي ولِمن هوَيْتُ حَديثُ

وَلَكَان لِي ولِمن هوَيْتُ حَديثُ

I would have spurred youth’s borrowed mount to a gallop,

I would have spurred the fleet steed among youth’s horses,

And there would have been a tale of me and the one I loved.

And I and the one I loved would have had a tale to tell.