وكنت أظن في كبري صلاحاً

يكفّر زلةَ السنّ الصغير

I thought in my old age I had attained righteousness

To atone for the missteps of my early years,

فلما أن كبرتُ ازددْت نجساً

فقل ما شئت في النحس الكبير

But as I grew older, I only became more unclean,

Say what you will of the profoundly unlucky elder.