1. لا تُكرِموا جَسَدي إِذا ما حَلَّ بي

    رَيبُ المَنونِ فَلا فَضيلَةَ لِلجَسَد

    Do not honor my body when I am overtaken by

    the calamity of death, for the body has no merit.

  2. كَالبُردِ كانَ عَلى اللَوابِسِ نافِقاً

    حَتّى إِذا فَنِيَت بَشاشَتُهُ كَسَد

    Like a cloak, it was in demand among its wearers,

    until its freshness faded and it went unsold.

  3. أَرواحُنا ظُلِمَت فَتِلكَ بُيوتِها

    دُرُسٌ خَوَينَ مِنَ الضَغائِنِ وَالحَسَد

    Our souls have been wronged, for those are their homes:

    worn-out ruins, emptied of grudges and envy.

  4. واروهُ مِن قَبلِ الفَسادِ فَإِنَّهُ

    جِسمٌ إِذا فُقِدَت حَرارَتُهُ فَسَد

    Bury it before decay, for it is

    a body that rots when its warmth is lost.

  5. لا تَغبِطوا رَجُلاً عَلى ما نالَهُ

    إِن باتَ قَد سادَ الرِجالَ وَلَم يُسَد

    Do not envy a man for what he has attained,

    even if he has come to rule men and is ruled by none.

  6. فَحَوادِثُ الأَيّامِ غَيرُ تَوارِكٍ

    نَسرَ النُجومِ وَلا السَمّاكَ وَلا الأَسَد

    For the calamities of time spare neither

    the Eagle of the stars, nor al-Simak, nor the Lion.