إِذا عاشَ الفَتى ستينَ عاماً

فَنِصفُ العُمرِ تَمحَقُهُ اللَيالي

If a young man lives sixty years,

If a man lives for sixty years,

Half his life is swept away by nights,

Half of that life is obliterated by the nights,

وَنِصفُ النِصفِ يَذهَبُ لَيسَ يَدري

لِغَفلَتِهِ يَميناً مِن شِمالِ

And half the half goes unknowingly,

And half of the half passes while he knows not,

Right to left, from inattention.

In his unawareness, his right hand from his left,

وَثُلثُ النِصفِ آمالٌ وَحِرصٌ

وَشُغلٌ بِالمَكاسِبِ وَالعيالِ

And a third of the half is wants and greed,

And a third of the half is merely hopes and greed,

And busyness with livelihood and family.

And toil for earnings and for family,

وَباقي العُمرِ أَسقامٌ وَشَيبٌ

وَهَمٌّ بِاِرتِحالٍ وَاِنتِقالِ

The rest of life is sickness and old age,

And the rest of life is sickness and gray hair,

And sorrow for departure and moving on.

And anxiety over the departure and the end,

فَحُبُّ المَرءِ طولَ العُمرِ جَهلٌ

وَقِسمَتَهُ عَلى هَذا المِثالِ

So a person's love of long life is ignorance,

So a person's love for a long life is ignorance,

And apportioning it according to this example.

If its division follows such a pattern.