لا تحذر البيضَ الصّوارمَ والقنا

واِحذرْ بجُهدك ما يقول المنطقُ

Fear not the swords and spears of war,

But guard with all your might against what logic says.

يبقى الكلامُ وكلُّ كَلْمٍ مؤلمٍ

يمحوه ليلٌ أو نهارٌ مشرقُ

Words remain, though hurtful talk

Is wiped away by day or radiant night.

والقولُ إمّا كان في عِرْضِ الفتى

كذباً فكم كذب الرّجال وصدّقوا

A saying was a young man's fault,

Though men have lied and then believed their lies.

قل للّذي جمع التِّلادَ وعنده

أنّ التِّلادَ ثَنِيَّةٌ لا تُطْرَقُ

Say to the one who gathered treasure, thinking

That treasure is a pair that can't be parted,

إنّ الحِمامَ لِمَا نَظَمْتَ مُشتِّتٌ

ولما جمعتَ مبدّدٌ ومفرّقُ

"The pigeons that you've neatly caged

When freed are scattered, split, and fly apart."

والمالُ بعد الموتِ من خُزّانِهِ

شِلْوٌ على أيدي الرّجالِ يُمزَّقُ

And wealth, when one is dead,

Is from its chests and coffers torn and ripped.