عِش ما بَدا لَكَ قَصرُكَ المَوتُ

لا مَرحَلٌ عَنهُ وَلا فَوتُ

Live as long as your life seems short,

There's no escape from death, no bypass.

بَينا غِنى بَيتٍ وَبَهجَتُهُ

زالَ الغِنى وَتَقَوَّضَ البَيتُ

A home may brim with joy and wealth -

Yet wealth departs and homes decay.

يا لَيتَ شِعري ما يُرادُ بِنا

وَلَقَلَّما تُغَني إِذاً لَيتُ

Oh would that I might know our fate -

How little then “would that” could weigh.