أَلا إِنَّ دَهراً هادِماً كل مانبنى

سَيَبلى كَما يُبلى وَيَفنى كَما يُفنى

Alas! Time, ever destructive, ruins all we build

It will fade as things fade and vanish as things vanish

وَما الفَوزُ في الدنيا هُوَ الفوز إِنَّما

يَفوز الفَتى بالربح فيها مَع الغبن

And triumph in this world is not the real triumph

The youth triumphs by gaining profit mixed with loss

يُجازي ببؤسٍ عَن لَذيذ نعيمها

وَيَجني الرَدى مِمّا غدت كفُّه تجنى

He will be rewarded with misery for his sweet life of bliss

And will reap thorns from what his hands have sown

وَلا شكَّ أَن الحزنَ يَجري لِغايَةٍ

وَلَكِنَّ نفس المَرءِ سيئةُ الظَن

No doubt that sorrow runs its destined course

But the soul of man is prone to think ill

وَما طولُ سجني عائبٌ لي فَإِنَّه

مِسَنٌّ لأَلبابٍ صدئن بِلا سِنِّ

My long imprisonment does not shame me

It ripens minds rusted without Temperance

وَما أَنا إِلّا كالعُقارِ تَكسبَّت

نسيماً وَطيباً في معاقرةِ الدنِّ

I'm but as aloes wood gaining

Fragrance and scent from mingling with the dregs