سَأَترُكُ هَذا البابَ مادامَ إِذنُهُ

كَعَهدي بِهِ حَتّى يَخِفَّ قَليلا

I shall leave this door alone, so long as permission to enter

remains as I have known it—until it grows a little easier.

وَما خابَ مَن لَم يَأَتِهِ مُتَعَمِّداً

وَلا فازَ مَن قَد نالَ مِنهُ وُصولا

No one has failed who did not deliberately come to it,

nor has anyone triumphed who gained access through it.

وَما جُعِلَت أَرزاقُنا بِيَدِ اِمرِئٍ

حَمى بابَهُ مِن أَن يُنالَ دُخولا

Our allotted sustenance was never placed in the hands of a man

who has barred his door against anyone gaining entry.

إِذا لَم أَجِد يَوماً إِلى الإِذنِ سُلَّماً

وَجَدتُ إِلى تَركِ المَجيءِ سَبيلا

If one day I find no ladder leading up to permission,

I shall find a way to stop coming.