إِن ساغَ بعدَكَ لي ماءٌ على ظَمَأٍ

فلا تجرعتُ غيرَ الصابِ والصَّبَرِ

If, after you, water should ever go down sweet when I thirst,

then may I have swallowed nothing but bitter ṣāb and aloe.

وإِن نظرتُ من الدنيا إِلى حَسَنٍ

مُذْ بِنْتَ عنِّي فلا مُتِّعْتُ بالنَّظَرِ

And if I look upon any beauty in this world

since you parted from me, may sight bring me no delight.

صحبتَني والشباب الغضّ ثم مضى

كما مضيتَ فما في العيشِ من وَطَرِ

You kept me company, and tender, budding youth did too; then youth passed,

just as you passed, and now life holds nothing I desire.

هَبْنِي بلغتُ من الأعمارِ أطولَها

ثمَّ احتويتُ على آمالي الكُبَرِ

Suppose I attained the longest of all lifespans,

and then possessed my greatest hopes in full—

فأين عصرُ شبابِ لا رجوعَ لهُ

أم أينَ أنتَ ومالي عنكَ من خَبَرِ

where, then, is the age of my youth, which can never return?

Or where are you, when I have no news of you?

سبقتمانِي ولو خُيِّرْتُ بعدَكُمَا

لكنتُ أوَّلَ لَحَّاقٍ على الأثَرِ

You both went before me; had I been given the choice once you were gone,

I would have been the first to follow, close upon your tracks.