أمّا الصباح فقد بدت راياته

بيضاً وقد هُزِمَ الظّلام الأكلف

The morning has unfurled its white banners

And defeated the stubborn darkness

فاخلِط صباحَك بالصَّبُحِ فإنه

أَنْفَى لمُنْتَاب الهمومِ وأتلفِ

So mix your morning with the morning, for it

Dispels the griefs of troubled minds and brings harmony

أَو ما ترى شمسَ النهار ودونَها

من مُسْتَهِلِّ الغَيم سِتْرٌ مُسْجَف

Or don't you see the sun of daytime and beneath it

From the cloud's horizon, a layered curtain

ينجاب عنها تارةً فَيُبِينُها

وتَغيب طَوْراً في دُجاه فتكسَف

Which alternately hides it then reveals it

While at times it disappears into deep gloom and is eclipsed

فكأنما لبِستْ قَباءً أزرقا

أو مُدَّ من خَزّ عليها مِطْرَف

As though it has worn a blue cloak

Or a festival robe has been draped over it

وبدا لنشر الروض من بعد الندى

ريح كريح المِسك بل هي أشرف

And after the dew, a breeze begins to stir the meadow

A musk-like breeze, nay it is even more fragrant

وَرْدٌ حكَى خَجَلَ الخدودِ ونَرْجِسٌ

يحكي العيونَ بأَعْينُ ما تَطْرِف

A rose describing the shyness of cheeks and a narcissus

Telling of eyes with glancing sights

فعيونُ ذاك بعسجدٍ مكحولٌ

وخدودُ ذا من عَنْدَمٍ تَتَغَلّف

While the eyes of one are heavily kohled

The cheeks of another wrap themselves in blushes

فكأنما نَثَرَتْ عليه لونَها

راحٌ على راحاتنا تَتَصرف

As though its color has been scattered over them

A breeze blowing freely over our terraces

فاشربْ فقد لَؤُمَ الزمانُ وقُطِّعَت

عُقَدُ الوفاءِ به وقلّ المنصف

So drink up, for time has been faithless

And the knots of loyalty to it have been cut, and the just are few

ولقد نهضتُ بعزمةٍ ما تَنثَني

عمّا أريد وفَتْكةٍ ما تَضْعفُ

And I have risen up with a resolve that will not bend

From what I want, and a power that will not weaken

فإذا الخطوبُ إذا مضت لا تَرْعَوي

وإذا قَضَتْ بقَضِيةٍ لا تُخلف

When calamities have passed, they are not feared

And when they decree something, it will not be reversed

فصبَرتُ للمقدارِ تحت مراده

كيلا يكونَ تأسّفٌ وَتَلَهُّفُ

So I have been patient with fate's will

Lest there be regret and anguished sighs

وعلمت أن لكلّ ريح هَدْأَةً

ولكل جارٍ منْتَهىً وتوقّفُ

And I know that every wind dies down

And everything moving has an end and halts