1. دعني خليلي إذا استوفيت أيامي

    وقر ثائر أشجاني وآلامي

    Let me, my dear friend, when I have lived out my days,

    And the tumult of my sorrows and pains has subsided,

  2. وصرت لا الصيف يؤذيني بوقدته

    ولا الشتاء بتوكافٍ وإرزام

    And summer no longer hurts me with its scorching heat,

    Nor winter with its downpours and thunder,

  3. ولا يحركني بغضٌ ولا مقةٌ

    ولا تريق همومي دمع أقلامي

    And neither hatred nor affection stirs me,

    Nor do my cares spill the tears of my pens,

  4. ولا يسهدني ضيمٌ يراد بنا

    ولا أبالي بأرزاقٍ وأقسام

    Nor does injustice aimed at us keep me awake,

    Nor do I care about livelihoods and allotted shares,

  5. أحيا بقلبك إن ضاق الزمان بنا

    وطأطأ الموت من أشراف أحلامي

    live on in your heart, if the times grow hard for us,

    And death has brought low the lofty peaks of my dreams.

  6. وإن تقدمني في الشعر قالته

    وفاتني كل عنان وأمام

    And even if its poets have surpassed me in poetry,

    And every rein and place in the lead has eluded me,

  7. فاحفظ قصيدهم من أجل جودته

    واحفظ قصيدي لحبي لا لأحكامي

    Then preserve their verse for its excellence,

    And preserve my verse for love of me, not for my judgments.