1. دنيايَ شرّ كلّها

    وعلى الورى صبر وسكر

    My world is evil, all of it.

    And for mankind, bitter aloes and sugar.

  2. كدر كليل دامس

    والعيش أبغضه المكدّر

    Murky as a pitch-dark night,

    And life's most hateful form is life clouded by trouble.

  3. دنيا تلبّس أمرها

    فالعقل فيها قد تحيّر

    A world whose affairs have become tangled,

    So reason has grown bewildered in it.

  4. جاذبتها فتعذرت

    فغذرتها والدهر أعذر

    I tugged at her, but she proved unattainable.

    So I abandoned her, and Time was more excusable.

  5. والحر فيها ناحل

    والنذل فيها قد تحبّر

    And the noble man in it is gaunt,

    And the scoundrel in it has reveled in luxury.

  6. لمّا عرضت لوصلها

    تاهت عليّ فتهت أكثر

    When I offered myself for union with her,

    She was haughty toward me, so I was haughtier still.