لَمْ يُرضِني دهري كما

أرضى سِوايَ فأَرتَضِيِه

My fate did not please me as I pleased it,

But it turned away harshly with what followed.

لكنه أَنْحَى عليْ

يَ بِحدّة وبما يلِيه

It fed on my blood,

While fate feeds on its sons.

أكْلاً وشُرباً من دمي

والدهرُ يأكل مِنْ بنيِه

A fate which bends the pine tree

Like the scarcity of true friends within it.

دهرٌ يَقلّ به السرو

رُ كقِلّة الإخوانِ فيه

Oh soul, time has wronged me,

So be patient and wander.

يا نفس قد جار الزما

نُ عليَّ فاصطبِري وتِيهي

And bear with its ignorance

The forbearance of the wise over the fool.

وتحملَّي عن جَهْلِه

حِلْمَ الأدِيبِ على السفِيه

If it were free, it would not have tyrannized

One day over a free and noble man.

لو كان حُرّاً ما سَطَا

يوما على حُرٍّ وَجيهِ