شَغِفتُ زَمانِي بِالعُلومِ وَلَم يَكُن

لِروحِيَ مَيلٌ لِلكَواعِبِ عَن قَصدِ

I devoted my life to knowledge, and my soul

Had no desire for entertainers or jest.

وَجَمَّعتُ مالاً راحَ في غَير لَذةٍ

فَأعقَبَني فَقديهِ وَجداً عَلى وَجدِ

I gathered wealth that went for no delight,

Then losing it brought misery and plight.

وَأَنتَجت أَفراخاً مَضوا لِسَبيلهم

عَلى حينِ نَقلٍ مِن سَريرٍ وَمِن مَهدِ

I raised chicks who went their destined way

As I was carried from couch to deathbed.

وَبُلِّغتُ مِن عُمري ثَمانينَ حِجَّةً

وَثنتينِ أُمسِي دائِماً نائِماً وَحدِي

Of my life I've completed eighty pilgrimages,

And eighty-two years I’ve spent asleep alone.

فَقَلبيَ مُسوَدٌ وَليلي مِثلُهُ

سواداً فَجاءوني بِمسوَدَّةِ الجلدِ

My heart is blackened and so is my night,

Then they brought me a shroud blacker than my woes.

فَصِرنا ثَلاثاً ظُلمَة مَع ظُلمَةٍ

عَلى ظُلمَةٍ تَتلُو لَنا ظُلمةُ اللَحدِ

So we became three darknesses in the gloom

Upon darkness, and the gloom of the grave follows.

وَدُنياهُمُ ما نِلتُ مِنها نَعيمَها

وَأَرجُو نَعيماً دامَ في جَنَّةِ الخُلدِ

Their worldly life brought me no joy,

Yet I hope for lasting bliss in Paradise.