ألاَ ليْسَت الدنْيَا بدار فلاحِ

بِعَيْنيْكَ صرعاها مساءَ صباح

Indeed, this world is no abode of well-being;

before your very eyes lie its fallen, evening and morning.

لنا من كلا العصرين ساقٍ كلاهُما

يَدُورُ فيسقينا بَكَأسِ ذُبَاحِ

At the day’s two ends, we have a cupbearer; both of them

circle round, making us drink from a death-dealing cup.

أُرانِي وأُمّي بعد فِقْداَنِ أُخْتِهَا

وإنْ كنتُ في رَفْهٍ بها وَصَلاَح

I see myself and my mother, after she lost her sister—

though through her I had enjoyed ease and well-being—

كَفَرْخ قطاةِ الدَّوّ بانَ جَنَاحُهَا

فباتَ إلى حِصْنٍ بِغَيْرِ جَنَاحِ

like the chick of a wilderness sandgrouse, her wing gone,

and so, without a wing, it sought a fortress for the night.