لواه القضاء بفرط السلام

لواه القضاء بفرط السلام

فهذا القضاء كفوت الأدا

فهذا القضاء كفوت الأدا

Fate held him back through an excess of peace;

Destiny denied me peace in abundance,

so this decree is like missing the due performance.

And so I missed the chance to prove myself.

فلله يوم كأن المساء

فلله يوم كأن المساء

فيه السماء لبعد المدى

فيه السماء لبعد المدى

By God, what a day! The evening seemed

Oh Lord, a day will come that seems

like the sky, so far away was it that day.

Like evening, with the horizon far away.

ظللت من الحر في منزل

ظللت من الحر في منزل

كأني به في صدور العدى

كأني به في صدور العدى

I stayed in a dwelling because of the heat,

I took shelter from the heat in a house

as though within it I were in the breasts of foes.

That felt like the chests of my enemies.

وقد نقع البأس أعطافه

وقد نقع البأس أعطافه

وكاد يموت بداء الصدا

وكاد يموت بداء الصدا

And hardship had already drenched its flanks,

Violence softened its claws around me

and it nearly died of the malady of thirst.

And nearly died from the disease of echo.

رجونا الندا فأردنا اللقاء

رجونا الندا فأردنا اللقاء

فأخرنا عنه خوف الندى

فأخرنا عنه خوف الندى

We hoped for bounty, so we wished to meet;

We hoped for rain but met with lightning,

but fear of dew held us back from it.

Fear of its wetness kept us away.