لا تَلْحَ مَنْ يبكي شبيبته

إلا إذا لم يَبْكِها بِدَمِ

Do not blame those who weep for their youth,

Unless they did not water it with blood.

عيْبُ الشبيبة غَولُ سَكْرتِها

مقدارَ ما فيها من النِّعَمِ

The fault of youth is the excess of its intoxication,

As much as the blessings in it.

لسنا نراها حقَّ رُؤيتها

إلّا زمانَ الشيبِ والهرمِ

We do not see it as it should be seen,

Except in old age and senility.

كالشمسِ لا تبدو فَضِيلتُها

حتى تَغَشَّى الأرضُ بالظُّلَمِ

Like the sun, its virtues do not appear,

Until the land is shrouded in darkness.

ولرُبَّ شيءٍ لا يُبَيِّنُهُ

وجدانُهُ إلّا معَ العدمِ

And there is many a thing not made clear

By intuition, except with destruction.