مُحِبٌّ جَفاني مَرَّةً ثُم زارَني

ومِنْ بَعْدِهِ قَدْ أَبْدَلَ السُّخْطَ بالرِّضا

A lover abandoned me once, then he visited me

And after that he replaced his displeasure with acceptance

وقالَ أنِلْني منْ عَطاياكَ منْحَةً

وكُلّ الذي تعطي يكُونُ معَوّضا

And said, "Grant me one of your gifts"

And whatever you give will be compensated

وهَبْتُ لهُ ثُلْثاً من العُمْرِ كامِلاً

ورُبْعاً وسُدْساً ثم ثُمْناً فأعْرَضا

So I gave him a full third of my life

And a quarter, a sixth, then an eighth, but he turned away

وقال قَليلٌ قُلْتُ عندي زيادةٌ

أضَفْتُ إليها ثُلْثَ سُبْع الذي مَضَى

And said, "Too little," I said, "I have more to add"

I added to it a third of the past seventh

وأبْقَيْتُ لي عِشْرينَ عاماً أعيِشُها

فهاكَ سُؤالي صارَ نَظْماً مُبَيّضا

And I kept twenty years for myself to live

So here is my request, made into elegant poetry

فكَْ كانَ هذا العُمْرُ إنْ كُنْتَ حاسِباً

أَديباً لَبيباً عالِماً مُتَيَقّضا

Now if you count, was this life enough

For a literary, wise, learned and vigilant man?