غَفَرتُ زَماناً في اِنتِكاسِ مَآثِمٍ

وَعِندَ مَليكِ الناسِ يُلتَمَسُ الغَفرُ

I forgave for a time the relapse of sins,

And with the king of men forgiveness is sought,

وَفي وَحدَةِ الإِنسانِ أَصنافُ لَذَّةٍ

وَكُلُّ صُنوفِ الوَحشِ يَجمَعُها القَفرُ

In the solitude of man are kinds of pleasure,

And all kinds of beasts the desert brings together.

لَعَلَّ ذُنوباً كُنَ لِلدينِ سُلَّماً

وَنارُكَ دونَ الماءِ يَقدَحُها الحَفرُ

Perhaps sins were a ladder for religion,

And your fire under water, digging brings it out.

تَطَلَّ بِمِسكٍ أَو تَضَمَّخ بِعَنبَرٍ

أَرى أُمَّ دَفرٍ ما عَدانا اِبنُها دَفرُ

Yearning for musk or smeared with ambergris,

I see Umm Dafar whose son did not abandon her, Dafar.

وَما القَبرُ إِلّا مَنزِلٌ نَفَرَت لَهُ

كَذوبُ المُنى ثُمَّ اِطمَأَنَّ بِها النَفرُ

And what is the grave but a dwelling which

The lies of wishes then in it the people settle.