حَتّى مَتى تَصبو وَرَأسُكَ أَمشَطُ

أَحَسِبتَ أَنَّ الَمَوتَ بِاِسمِكَ يَغلَطُ

How long will you ride with pride while death awaits you?

Do you think that death will mistake your name?

أَم لَستَ تَحسَبُهُ عَلَيكَ مُسَلَّطاً

وَبَلى وَرَبِّكَ إِنَّهُ لَمُسَلَّطُ

Or do you not reckon it is imposed upon you?

Yes, by your Lord, it is certainly imposed.

وَلَقَد رَأَيتُ المَوتَ يَفرِسُ تارَةً

جُثَثَ المُلوكِ وَتارَةً يَتَخَبَّطُ

I have seen death lurking,

pouncing on the corpses of kings at times, at others writhing in agony.

يا آلِفَ الخُلّانَ مُعتَقِداً لَهُم

سَتَشُطُّ عَنهُم بِالمَماتِ وَتَشحَطُ

O intimate with rulers, believing in them -

it will soon strip them bare in death and scatter them around.

وَكَأَنَّني بِكَ بَينَهُم واهي القُوى

نِضواً تَقَلَّصُ بَينَهُم وَتَبَسَّطُ

I can see you among them, weak in strength

shriveling up between them, trying to ingratiate yourself.

وَكَأَنَّني بِكَ بَينَهُم خَفِقَ الحَشا

بِالَموتِ في غَمَراتِهِ يَتَشَحَّطُ

I can see you among them, your heart throbbing with fear of death

as it flounders in its depths.

وَكَأَنَّني بِكَ في قَميصٍ مُدرَجاً

في رَيطَتَينِ مُلَفَّفٌ وَمُحَنَّطُ

I can see you in a shroud, wrapped up

in two pieces of cloth, embalmed.

لا رَيطَتَينِ كَرَيطَتي مُتَنَسِّمٍ

روحَ الحَياةِ وَلا القَميصُ مُخَيَّطُ

Not in two pieces like my pieces full of breath of life -

nor is my shroud sewn together.