ومِنْ نَكَدِ الدُّنْيا إِذا ما تَعَذَّرتْ

ومِنْ نَكَدِ الدُّنْيا إِذا ما تَعَذَّرتْ

أُمورٌ وإِنْ عُدَّتْ صِغاراً عَظائِمُ

أُمورٌ وإِنْ عُدَّتْ صِغاراً عَظائِمُ

And one of life's vexations is that, when they prove difficult,

When life's affairs are thwarted, though small,

matters, though reckoned small, become formidable.

they loom large.

إِذا رمتُ بِالمِنْقاشِ نَتْفَ أَشاهِبي

إِذا رمتُ بِالمِنْقاشِ نَتْفَ أَشاهِبي

أُتيح لَها مِنْ بَيْنِهن الأَداهِمُ

أُتيح لَها مِنْ بَيْنِهن الأَداهِمُ

When I try with tweezers to pluck my gray hairs,

When I pluck grey hairs with tweezers, inevitably

the black ones among them are offered in their stead.

some dark ones come out among them.

فَأَنْتُفُ ما أَهْوى بِغَيْرِ إِرادَتي

فَأَنْتُفُ ما أَهْوى بِغَيْرِ إِرادَتي

وأَتْركُ ما أَقْلي وأَنْفِيَ راغِمُ

وأَتْركُ ما أَقْلي وأَنْفِيَ راغِمُ

So I pluck what I love against my will,

I discard what I desire against my will

and leave what I loathe, my nose rubbed in the dust.

and abandon what I abhor, though reluctant.