رَضِيَت نَفسي بِقِسمَتِها

فَليُراوِد غَيرِيَ الشُهُبا

My soul is content with what is ordained

My soul is content with its destiny,

So let others pursue the shooting stars

So let others chase after the high stars.

كُلُّ نَجمٍ لا اِهتِداءَ بِهِ

لا أُبالي لاحَ أَو غَرُبا

Each star I cannot be guided by

Every star by which I cannot be guided,

I care not whether it rises or sets

I care not whether it rises or sets.

كُلُّ نَهرٍ لا اِرتِواءَ بِهِ

لا أُبالي سالَ أَو نَضَبا

Each river from which I cannot drink

Every river that offers no quenching of thirst,

I care not whether it flows or dries up

I care not whether it flows or runs dry.

ما غَدٌ يا مَن يُصَوِّرُهُ

لِيَ شَيئاً رائِعاً عَجِبا

What is tomorrow, O you who depicts it

What is tomorrow, O you who depict it,

For me it is something wonderful and strange

To me as something wondrous and strange?

ما لَهُ عَين وَلا أَثَرٌ

هُوَ كَالأَمسِ الَّذي ذَهَبا

It has no eye nor trace

It has no substance nor any trace;

It is like yesterday which departed

It is just like the yesterday that has passed.

أَسقِني الصَهباءَ إِن حَضَرَت

ثُمَّ صِف لِيَ الكَأس وَالحَبَبا

Give me the wine if it is present

Pour me the wine if it is here,

Then describe to me the cup and the draught

Then describe to me the cup and the bubbles.

لَيسَ يَرويني مَقالَكَ لي

أَنَّها العِقيانُ مُنسَكِبا

Your words do not quench my thirst

It does not quench me when you tell me

That it is pure grape juice spilling over

That it is liquid gold being poured.

إِنَّ صِدقاً لا أُحِسُّ بِهِ

هُوَ شَيءٌ يُشبِهُ الكَذِبا

Verily, I feel no sincerity in it

Truly, a reality I cannot perceive,

It is something resembling a lie

Is a thing that resembles a lie.

لا يُنجي الشاةَ مِن سَغَبٍ

أَنَّ في أَرضِ السُهى عَشَبا

It will not save the sheep from dying of thirst

It does not save the sheep from starvation

That there is grass in the land of bliss

To know there is grass in the lands of the distant stars.

ما عَلى مَن لا يُطيقُ يَرى

نَوَّرَ الوادي أَوِ اِكتَأَبا

It is not incumbent upon one who cannot endure

What does it matter to one unable to see,

To see whether the valley is illuminated or gloomy

Whether the valley blossoms or grows gloomy?

ما يُفيدُ الطَيرَ في قَفَصٍ

ضاقَ هَذا الجَوُّ أَرَحِبا

It is no use to the bird in a cage

What good is it to the bird in a cage,

That the sky is more spacious

Whether the sky is narrow or vast?

بَرِّدي يا سُحبُ مِن ظَمَأي

وَاِهطُلي مِن بَعدِ ذا ذَهَبا

Cool me, O clouds, from my thirst

Quench my thirst, O clouds, with your cool rain,

And pour down after it has departed

And after that, you may rain down gold.

أَو فَكوني غَيرَ راحِمَةٍ

حِمَماً حَمراءَ لا سُحُبا

Or be unrelenting

Or else, be without mercy,

As red hot coal, not clouds

And turn to red molten fire, not clouds.

وَلأَكُن وَحدي لَها هَدَفاً

وَلتَكُن نَفسي لَها حَطَبا

And let me alone be its target

Let me alone be the target for it,

And let my soul be its fuel

And let my soul serve as its fuel.

أَنا مِن قَومٍ إِذا حَزِنوا

وَجَدوا في حُزنِهِم طَرَبا

I am of a people when they are saddened

I am of a people who, when they grieve,

They find bliss in their grief

Find a strange delight within their sorrow.

وَإِذا ما غايَةٌ صَعُبَت

هَوَّنوا بِالتَركِ ما صَعُبا

And when an objective becomes difficult

And if a goal proves too difficult to reach,

They make light of what is difficult by leaving it

They ease the hardship by simply letting go.