1. شارد اللب والفكر

    خاشع القلب والبصر

    Distracted in mind and thought,

    humbled in heart and gaze.

  2. في حناياه شعلة

    تتلظى ولا تقر

    Within his depths, a flame

    blazes and never rests.

  3. في مآقيه دمعة

    كالشابيب تنهمر

    In the corners of his eyes, a tear

    streams down like rain showers.

  4. في ثنيَّات صدره

    زفرة الهم والكدر

    In the folds of his breast,

    a sigh of worry and gloom.

  5. في تضاعيف نفسه

    تنطوي عبرة العبر

    In the folds of his soul

    lies the lesson of lessons.

  6. هو للبؤس صورة

    ومن شجون الأسى صور

    He is an image of misery,

    and images of sorrow's woes.

  7. يا لوسنان ليله

    باهت النجم والقمر

    Ah, how drowsy is his night,

    its star and moon pale.

  8. لا يرى في غضونه

    غير ما يبعث الضجر

    He sees within its folds

    nothing but what stirs vexation.

  9. وحواليه صبية

    جوعٌ زائغو البصر

    And around him are children,

    hungry, their gaze wandering,

  10. بوجوه شواحب

    وعيون بلا نظر

    with pallid faces

    and eyes without sight,

  11. وجسوم نواحل

    لا وقاء ولا وزر

    and wasted bodies,

    with neither protection nor refuge,

  12. عرضة القر والوبا

    ء كعود بلا ثمر

    exposed to cold and plague,

    like a bough without fruit.

  13. تذبل الريح قشره

    فيبيد ويندثر

    The wind withers its bark,

    so it perishes and vanishes.

  14. كلما مال نحوهم

    قدحت عينه شرر

    Whenever he leans toward them,

    his eye strikes sparks;

  15. واعترى قلبه الأسى

    واحتوى نفسه الحصر

    grief overtakes his heart,

    and anguish engulfs his soul.

  16. وعلته كآبة

    مرة الخبر والخبر

    And gloom comes over him,

    bitter to experience and to hear of.

  17. ودعا صبية الضنى

    صبية السهد والسهر

    And he calls to the children of wasting illness,

    the children of sleeplessness and vigil:

  18. ان من كان بائساً

    كان في ذمة القدر

    Indeed, whoever is wretched

    is in fate's keeping.

  19. مشهد من مشاهد

    مبكيات على الأثر

    A scene among scenes

    that bring tears in their wake.

  20. ويحه لا طلاقة

    في محياه تنتشر

    Alas for him! No cheerfulness

    spreads across his face.

  21. ذاهل لا تضمه

    حفلات ولا سمر

    Dazed, he is embraced by neither

    festivities nor evening talk.

  22. تلمس النفس بؤسه

    حين يأسى وينفطر

    The soul feels his misery

    when he grieves and breaks apart.

  23. هذه الدور والقصو

    ر لمن ولم لا تخر

    These houses and palaces—

    whose are they, and why do they not fall?

  24. لمَ ما لي نظيرها

    لمَ أسعى فأندحر

    Why have I none like them?

    Why do I strive, only to be defeated?

  25. والذي في ربوعها

    ما جن كاذب أشر

    And the one who dwells within them

    is a dissolute, insolent liar,

  26. فارغ القلب غارق

    في الملذات والسرر

    empty-hearted, immersed

    amid pleasures and couches,

  27. وانا طعمة الطوى

    أتلظى على الكسر

    while I am prey to hunger,

    burning for scraps of bread.

  28. الرزايا تعودني

    مسرعات الخطى زمر

    Calamities visit me,

    with hurried steps, in bands.

  29. مشهد من مشاهد

    مبكيات على الأثر

    A scene among scenes

    that bring tears in their wake.

  30. يا غنيّاً بماله

    رقّ قلباً ولا تجر

    O you, rich in your wealth,

    be tender-hearted, and do not oppress.

  31. إنما العامل امرؤ

    غاله غائل الغير

    The worker is but a human being,

    laid low by the scourge of changing fortune.

  32. فيه ما فيك يا أخي

    من ميول ومن فطر

    In him is what is in you, my brother:

    inclinations and innate dispositions,

  33. من عظام ومن دم

    من خيال ومن فكر

    bones and blood,

    imagination and thought.

  34. انه من مشاعر

    انه ليس من حجر

    Indeed, he is made of feelings;

    indeed, he is not made of stone.