لَعَمري لَقَد طالَ هذا السَفَر

عَلَيَّ وَأَصبَحتُ أَحدو النَفَر

By my life, this journey has been so long for me,

And I have become one of the few.

أَأَخرُجُ مِن تَحتِ هَذي السَماءِ

فَكَيفَ الإِباقُ وَأَينَ المَفَر

Shall I emerge from beneath this sky?

How can I escape, and where is the refuge?

وَكم عُشتُ مِن سَنَةٍ في الزَمانِ

وَجاوَزتُ مِن رَجَبٍ أَو صَفَر

How many years have I lived in time?

And how many months of Rabi' or Safar have I traversed?

وَما جُعِلَت لِأُسودِ العَرينِ

أَظافيرُ إِلّا اِبتِغاءَ الظَفَر

The claws of the lions in their dens

Are only for gaining prey.

لَحا اللَهُ قَوماً إِذا جِئتَهُم

بِصِدقِ الأَحاديثِ قالوا كِفَر

May God destroy a people when you come to them

With the truth of speech, and they claim it's blasphemy.

وَإِن غُفِرَت مُوبِقاتُ الذُنوبِ

فَكُلُّ مَصائِبِهِم تُغتَفَر

And if the destructive sins are forgiven,

Then all their afflictions can be overlooked.

وَرَوحُ الفَتى أَشبَهَت طائِراً

أُطيرَ فَما عادَ لَمّا نَفَر

The spirit of a young man is like a bird—

It flies off and does not come back when it takes flight.

هَنيئاً لِجِسمي إِذا ما اِستَقَرَّ

وَصارَ لِعُنصُرِهِ في العَفَر

Congratulations to my body when it comes to rest

And becomes a pile of dust.

وَلَستُ أُبالي إِذا ما بَليتُ

مَن وَطِئَ القَبرَ أَو مَن حَفَر

I do not care who treads the grave or who digs it.

Your world hides from the seeker,

تَحَجُّبُ دُنياكَ عَن طالِبٍ

وَلَيسَ تَحَجُّبُها مِن خَفَر

And it does not hide from the watcher.