ليقعد الدَّهرُ بي ما شاءَ وليَقُم

لَيسَ التَضاؤل للأَهوال من شيمي

Let time sit with me as long as it wants and let it stand up

Despondency in the face of calamities is not of my nature

ما جرَّدَ الدَهرُ عضباً من فوادحه

إلّا وجرَّدتُ عضباً من شبا هِممي

Whenever time bares its fangs with disasters

I too bare the fangs of my lofty ambitions

كَم عاذِرٍ عاذلٍ في الدهر قُلتُ له

أَقصر فَلَيتكَ لم تعذُر ولم تلمِ

How many excusers in time have I told

You should have kept short, you should not have blamed or rebuked

غيري لتَهدي اللَيالي ولتضلّ به

فَلَستُ منها على حال بمتَّهمِ

Others mislead the nights and go astray with them

While I remain in a state, blameless

أَنضو اللَيالي وتَنضوني منادمةً

وما قرعتُ بها سنّاً من النَدمِ

The nights keep me company and I keep them company in turn

And I have never regretted that companionship

فَقُل لِمَن سامني صبراً على مضضٍ

من القطيعة عمداً غير محتشِمِ

So say to those who blamed me for patience over heartache

From separation, intentionally, without dignity

لا تحسَبنّي وإِن أَلفَيتَني سَلَماً

يَوماً بمستسلم للحادث العممِ

Do not think that if you find me one day to be submissive

That I submit to the overwhelming misfortune

لئن صدعتَ صَفاةَ الشمل مجتهداً

فَما عطفتَ على قُربى ولا رحِمِ

If you try hard to reconcile kindred ties

You will neither be kind to relatives nor compassionate to womb-relations

ماذا عَلى الفَرع خانته الأصولُ إذا

تأَصَّل الفَرعُ بين المَجدِ والكَرَمِ

What fault is it of the branch if its roots have betrayed it

When the branch is rooted in glory and generosity?