إِن صَحَّ لي أَنَّني سَعيدُ

فَلَيتَني ضَمَّني صَعيدُ

If I am granted happiness,

I wish the earth would swallow me.

صُمتُ حَياتي إِلى مَماتي

لَعَلَّ يَومَ الحِمامِ عيدُ

My life's silence until my death,

Perhaps the day of reckoning is a celebration.

وَراعَني لِلحِسابِ ذَكَرٌ

وَغَرَّني أَنَّهُ بَعيدُ

Remembrance of the reckoning startled me,

And I was deceived that it was far away.

وَعَن يَميني وَعَن شِمالي

يَصحَبُني حافِظٌ قَعيدُ

On my right and on my left,

A vigilant guardian accompanies me.

حَمامَةٌ في غُصونِ أَيكٍ

ناحَت فَأَنشَأتُ أَستَعيدُ

A dove in the branches of a tamarisk tree

Cried out, so I started to plead,

وَما فَقِهتُ المَرادَ مِنها

كُلُّ فَقيهٍ لَهُ مُعيدُ

And I did not understand what she intended;

Every expert has his own interpretation.

إِذا رَجَونا قَضاءَ وَعدٍ

فَكَيفَ لا يُرهَبُ الوَعيدُ

If we hope for the fulfillment of a promise,

How can the threat not be feared?