سَمِعتُكَ مُخبِراً فَنَظَرتُ فيما

تَقولُ فَكانَ أَمراً يَستَحيلُ

I heard you speaking and looked into what

you were saying, but it was an impossible thing.

مَتى أَسأَلكَ في يَومي دَليلاً

أَجِدكَ بِهِ عَلى غَدِهِ تُحيلُ

Whenever I ask you for evidence in my day

you refer me to tomorrow, postponing.

نَعَم لاحَ الهِلالُ فَصارَ بَدراً

وَعادَ لِنَقصِهِ فَهوَ النَحيلُ

Yes, the crescent moon shone and became full

then went back to its slimness, the fading one.

كَذاكَ الدَهرُ إِقبالٌ وَنَحسٌ

وَإِبرامٌ يُعاقِبُهُ سَحيلُ

Such is time, rise and fall,

and a pact for which oblivion is the punisher.

وَرَكبٌ وارِدٌ لِيُقيمَ عَصراً

وَآخَرُ قَد أَجَدَّ بِهِ الرَحيلُ

One group arrives to establish an age

while another is ready to depart.

فَلا تُنكِر إِذا دَنَتِ الأَقاصي

وَلا تَعجَب إِذا مَرِهَ الكَحيلُ

So do not deny when the far off draws near

nor be astonished when the old grows young.