إِن تَجِد بابَ الأَماني مُغلَقاً

لا تُكَشِّرْ أَو تَلُم مَن سَكَّرَهْ

If you find the door of wishes locked,

do not scowl or blame whoever locked it.

إِن بَوّاقَ الأَماني مَرِحٌ

يَبغُضُ اليَأسَ وَيَخشى الكَشَرَهْ

For the gatekeeper of wishes is cheerful;

he loathes despair and fears a scowl.

يا عَزيزي هَل تَرى الكَشرَةَ قَد

أَرجَعَت مِن فائِتٍ بَعدَ فَواتِ

My dear, have you ever seen a scowl

bring back what was lost after it had passed,

بَينَما البَسمَةُ أَدنَت قاصِياً

أَوَما جَرَّبَتَ سِحرَ البَسَماتِ

while a smile has drawn someone distant near?

Have you not tried the magic of smiles?

إِنَّ لِلعَيشِ طَريقَينِ هُما الـ

ـجِدُّ في الضَحكَ وَجِدٌّ في البُكاءْ

Life indeed has two paths, and they are—

earnestness in laughter and earnestness in weeping.

لا تَقُل أُجبِرتُ في سَرِّهِما

فَلَكَ الخيرَةُ فَاِختَر ما تَشاءْ

Do not say, “I was forced along either path”;

the choice is yours, so choose as you wish.

ثُمَّ ما ساءَكَ مِن هذي الدُنى

ما الَّذي رَدَّ لَكَ الطَرفَ كَليلا

What, then, has troubled you in this world?

What is it that has left your gaze weary?

إِنَّ دُنياكَ الَّتي تَصنَعُها

فَسَّرَ الأَشياءَ تَفسيراً جَميلا

Your world is the one you make;

so interpret all things beautifully.

إِن يَكُن خانَكَ إِلفٌ في الهَوى

وَتَذَوَّقتَ مَريراً غَدرَهُ

If a beloved companion has betrayed you in love,

and you have tasted the bitterness of his treachery,

فَهوَ أَعفاكَ وَأَخلى عامِداً

شقَّةً في القَلبِ اِسكِن غيرَهُ

then he has freed you and deliberately left vacant

a chamber in the heart—let someone else dwell there.