أتاك الشتاءُ عقيبَ الخريفِ

أتاك الشتاءُ عقيبَ الخريفِ

وجاء الربيعُ يليه المصيفُ

وجاء الربيعُ يليه المصيفُ

Winter came to you after autumn.

Winter came after autumn

And spring came, followed by summer.

And spring followed then summer

ودار الزمانُ بأبنائه

ودار الزمانُ بأبنائه

فمن دوره كان دورُ الرغيف

فمن دوره كان دورُ الرغيف

And time revolved with its children.

Time revolves with its sons

So from its cycle came the cycle of the loaf.

As does the cycle of bread

سرى في الجسوم بأحكامه

سرى في الجسوم بأحكامه

تغذى اللطيف به والكثيف

تغذى اللطيف به والكثيف

It coursed through bodies according to its laws.

It flowed in bodies with its rules

The subtle and the dense were nourished by it.

Feeding the delicate and the coarse

عجبتُ لهم جهلوا قدرهم

عجبتُ لهم جهلوا قدرهم

ويسعى القويُّ له والضعيف

ويسعى القويُّ له والضعيف

I marveled at them: they did not know their worth.

I wondered at them, ignorant of their worth

And the strong and the weak strive for it.

As the strong and the weak bustle for it

فأصبح كالماء في قدره

فأصبح كالماء في قدره

لديهم وفي الماء سرٌّ لطيف

لديهم وفي الماء سرٌّ لطيف

So it became like water in its worth

It became like water in its pot

To them—and in water lies a subtle secret.

With them, and in water there is a subtle secret