1. ما عَلى ظَنِّيَ باسُ

    يَجرَحُ الدَهرُ وَياسو

    There is nothing wrong with my expectation:

    Time wounds and heals.

  2. رُبَّما أَشرَفَ بِالمَر

    ءِ عَلى الآمالِ ياسُ

    Sometimes a person is brought near

    To his hopes by despair.

  3. وَلَقَد يُنجيكَ إِغفا

    لٌ وَيُرديكَ احتِراسُ

    And heedlessness may indeed save you,

    While caution brings you ruin.

  4. وَالمَحاذيرُ سِهامٌ

    وَالمَقاديرُ قِياسُ

    And dangers are arrows,

    And fate's decrees are bows.

  5. وَلَكَم أَجدى قُعودٌ

    وَلَكم أَكدى التِماسُ

    And how often sitting still has helped,

    And how often seeking has proved fruitless.

  6. وَكَذا الدَهرُ إِذا ما

    عَزَّ ناسٌ ذَلَّ ناسُ

    And such is time: whenever

    Some are exalted, others are humbled.

  7. وَبَنو الأَيّامِ أَخيا

    فٌ سَراةٌ وَخِساسُ

    And the sons of the days are varied:

    Nobles and lowly folk.

  8. نَلبَسُ الدُنيا وَلَكِن

    مُتعَةٌ ذاكَ اللِباسُ

    We wear the world, but

    That garment is a passing pleasure.

  9. يا أَبا حَفصٍ وَما ساواكَ

    في فَهمٍ إِياسُ

    O Abu Hafs, you have not been matched

    In understanding by Iyas.

  10. مِن سَنا رَأيِكَ لي في

    غَسَقِ الخَطبِ اِقتِباسُ

    From the radiance of your judgment, in

    The darkness of calamity, I borrow light.

  11. وَوِدادي لَكَ نَصٌّ

    لَم يُخالِفهُ قِياسُ

    And my affection for you is an explicit text;

    No analogy has contradicted it.

  12. أَنَ حَيرانٌ وَلِلأَمرِ

    وُضوحٌ وَاِلتِباسُ

    I am bewildered, and this matter has

    Clarity and ambiguity.

  13. ما تَرى في مَعشَرٍ حالوا

    عَنِ العَهدِ وَخاسوا

    What do you think of people who have turned

    From their pledge and broken faith?

  14. وَرَأَوني سامِرِيّاً

    يُتَّقى مِنهُ المَساسُ

    And saw me as a Samiri,

    Whom one avoids touching.

  15. أَذأُبٌ هامَت بِلَحمي

    فَاِنتِهاشٌ وَاِنتِهاسُ

    Wolves, maddened by my flesh:

    Then tearing and gnawing.

  16. كُلُّهُم يَسأَلُ عَن حالي

    وَلِلذِئبِ اِعتِساسُ

    All of them ask about my condition,

    And the wolf prowls by night.

  17. إِن قَسا الدَهرُ فَلِلماءِ

    مِنَ الصَخرِ انبِجاسُ

    If time grows harsh, water still

    Gushes forth from rock.

  18. وَلَئِن أَمسَيتُ مَهبوساً

    فَلِلغَيثِ اِحتِباسُ

    And even if I have become imprisoned,

    Rain, too, is held back.

  19. يَلبُدُ الوَردُ السَبَنتى

    وَلَهُ بَعدُ اِفتِراسُ

    The fierce, tawny lion crouches,

    Yet afterward it still seizes prey.

  20. فَتَأَمَّل كَيفَ يَغشى

    مُقلَةَ المَجدِ النُعاسُ

    So ponder how there steals over

    Glory's eye a drowsiness.

  21. وَيُفَتُّ المِسكُ في التُربِ

    فَيوطا وَيُداسُ

    And musk is crumbled in the dust,

    Then trodden on and trampled.

  22. لا يَكُن عَهدُكَ وَرداً

    إِنَّ عَهدي لَكَ آسُ

    Let your pledge not be a rose;

    Indeed, my pledge to you is myrtle.

  23. وَأَدِر ذِكرِيَ كَأساً

    ما اِمتَطَت كَفَّكَ كاسُ

    And pass my remembrance round like a cup,

    Whenever a cup rides upon your palm.

  24. وَاِغتَنِم صَفوَ اللَيالي

    إِنَّما العَيشُ اِختِلاسُ

    And seize the serenity of the nights;

    Life is only what we snatch.

  25. وَعَسى أَن يَسمَحَ الدَهرُ

    فَقَد طالَ الشِماسُ

    And perhaps time will be generous,

    For its unruliness has lasted long.