نِقَمِي تَتْبَعُها نِعَمي

وَيَميني دَرَّةُ الدِّيَمِ

My blessings are followed by misfortunes,

And my right hand is the pearly star of misfortune.

لَيْتَ شِعْري وَالمُنى خُدَعٌ

هَلْ أُرَوِّي صارِمي بِدَمِ

Would that I knew! Is hope a deceiver?

Shall I water my sword with blood?

وَجِباهُ الصِّيدِ لاثِمَةٌ

ما تَمَسُّ الأَرْضُ مِنْ قَدَمي

The brows of the hunter are sinful.

My feet touch not the ground.

تَقْتَفي الأَفْواهُ مَوْطِئَها

راعِياتٍ حُرْمَةَ الكَرَمِ

The mouths follow its trace,

Shepherdesses, preserving the honor of the vineyard.

أَتَراهُ خَدَّ غَانِيَةٍ

مَدَّ لِلْتَقْبيلِ كُلَّ فَمِ

Do I see him kiss the mouth of every singing girl

Who stretches her mouth for a kiss?

وَالعُلا إِرْثي وَلَسْتُ أَرَى

حاجِزاً عَنْها سِوى العَدَمِ

Glory is my inheritance, and I see

No obstacle to it except annihilation.

كَيفَ أَرْجُو أَنْ أَفُوزَ بِها

في زَمانٍ ضَاقَ عَنْ هِمَمِي

How can I hope to attain it

In an age too narrow for my aspirations?