شَعرٌ كَساهُ الدَهرُ صِبغَةَ حاذِقِ

لَوناً أَقامَ بِحالِهِ لَم يَنصُلِ

Poetry which time has dyed with the hue of a connoisseur

A color it established stable, unchanging

شَبَحي وَإِن نِلتُ الثَرَيّا لِلثَرى

طُعمٌ وَعُنصُرُ خَيرِنا كَالعُنصُلِ

My specter, even if I gain wealth for the earth

Is a flavor and element of our finest, like onions

وَالناسُ كُلُّهُمُ بَغى ما فاتَهُ

وَغَدا يُحاوِلُ مَطلَباً لَم يَحصُلِ

And all people desire what eludes them

And tomorrow they strive for unattained goals

مُتَنَصِّلٌ مِن غَيرِ ذَنبٍ فيهِمُ

وَأَخو ذُنوبٍ لَيسَ بِالمُتَنَصِّلِ

Disassociating without any fault among them

And a brother of sins, not one to disassociate

لَو خُيِّروا بَينَ الحَياةِ وَغَيرِها

ما كانَتِ الدُنيا اِختِيارَ مُحَصِّل

If they were to choose between life and otherwise

This world would not be the chooser's attainment

وَأَرى الفَتى بَلَغَ المَكارِمَ وَالعُلا

بِالحَظِّ لا بِسِنانِهِ وَالمُنصُلِ

And I see the youth, having reached the heights of glory

Through fortune, not his years or pruning hook

جِسمٌ يَذُمُّ النَفسَ وَهيَ تَذُمُّهُ

في مُجمَلٍ مِن أَمرِها وَمُفَصَّلِ

A body that blames the soul, and it blames the body

In an overall and detailed affair between them

يَتَقاطَعونَ وَفي القَطيعَةِ راحَةٌ

مِن بُؤسِ عَيشٍ بِالأَذاةِ مُوَصَّلِ

They conflict, and in conflict there is respite

From the misery of a life bound by hurts

تَلقى النُفوسُ حُتوفَها مِن مُظلِمٍ

أَو مُصبِحٍ أَو مُظهِرٍ أَو مُؤصِلِ

Souls receive their shrouds from darkness

Or dawn, or daylight, or sunset

فَكَأَنَّ روحَكَ لَم يَحُلَّ بِشَخصِهِ

وَالراحُ ما دَبَّت لَهُ في مَفصِلِ

It's as if your soul never lodged in its person

And the wind never blew into its joints