1. أَنا لِصَرورَةِ في الحَياةِ مُقارِنٌ

    ما زُلتُ أَسبَحُ في البِحارِ المُوَّجِ

    In life, I am a companion to abstinence;

    I have never ceased swimming in the surging seas.

  2. وَصَرورَةٌ في شيمَتَينِ لِأَنَّني

    مُذ كُنتُ لَم أَحجُج وَلَم أَتَزَوَّجِ

    And I am uninitiated in two respects, because I

    have, since I came to be, neither made pilgrimage nor married.

  3. مِن مَذهَبي أَن لا أَشُدَّ بِفِضَّةٍ

    قَدَحي وَلا أُصغي لِشَربِ مُعَوَّجِ

    It is my practice not to bind with silver

    my cup, nor heed a wayward band of drinkers.

  4. لَكِن أُقضي مُدَّتي بِتَقَنُّعٍ

    يَغني وَأَفرَحُ بِاليَسيرِ الأَروَجِ

    But I spend my lifetime in contentment

    that suffices, and rejoice in the little that circulates most readily.

  5. هَذا وَلَستُ أَوَدُّ أَنّي قائِمٌ

    بِالمَلِكِ في ثَوبَي أَغَرَّ مُتَوَّجِ

    This—and I do not wish that I were standing

    as king, in the two robes of a radiant, crowned man.