سَأَلَتني عَن رَهطِ قَيلٍ وَعِترٍ

أَينَ إِلّا الحَديثُ قَيلٌ وَعِترُ

She asked me of a folk, long passed away

Naught but their tale survives until this day

خابَ مَن خَلَّفَ الحَياةَ هَتيكاً

ما عَلَيهِ مِنَ الدِيانَةِ سِترُ

Lost is he who wantonly his life misspent

No cloak of faith his misdeeds to repent

وَالفَتى وَالرَدى كَراكِبِ لُجٍّ

إِنَّما نَفسُهُ مِنَ المَوتِ فِترُ

As rider and steed o'er the raging tide

His soul alone from death seeks to hide

إِن تَطُل عيشَةٌ فَإِنَّ المَنايا

سَوفَ يُقضى لَها بِمَن عاشَ وِترُ

If life's span stretches, death patiently waits

For those survived by youth's unwise mates

مِن عُيوبِ الكَبيرِ قَولُهُمُ إِن

زَلَّ يَوماً قَد أَدرَكَ الشَيخَ هِترُ

Of elders' faults, the greatest, some say

His stumbling once, marks his wits' decay