فَجَرّى وَمَنّاني ثَلاثَة اشهُر

فَجَرّى وَمَنّاني ثَلاثَة اشهُر

بِوَعد وَأَوفَت بَعد ذاكَ معاذِرُه

بِوَعد وَأَوفَت بَعد ذاكَ معاذِرُه

So he kept putting me off, feeding me hopes for three months,

So he stalled and fed me hopes for three months

with a promise—then afterward his excuses were what came true.

With a promise; after that, his excuses abounded.

غَدٌ علة لِليَومِ وَاليَوم عِلَّة

غَدٌ علة لِليَومِ وَاليَوم عِلَّة

لامس مَدى لا يَنقَضي الدَهر آخِرُهُ

لامس مَدى لا يَنقَضي الدَهر آخِرُهُ

Tomorrow is an excuse for today, and today an excuse

Tomorrow is an excuse for today, and today an excuse

for yesterday—a span whose end will never come, forever.

For yesterday—a span whose end never comes, through all time.

وَإِنّي لَراج حينَ أَرجو مغرِّرا

وَإِنّي لَراج حينَ أَرجو مغرِّرا

نَدى جامِد لا يَخرُج الماءَ عاصِرُه

نَدى جامِد لا يَخرُج الماءَ عاصِرُه

And still I am hopeful; whenever I hope, I gamble

And when I hope, I am indeed rashly hoping for

on bounty frozen solid: its presser can wring no water from it.

Frozen bounty: whoever wrings it can extract no water.