1. دَمعٌ عَلى ما يَفوتُ مُنسَكِبٌ

    ما الكَأسُ مِن هِمَّتي وَلا الجامُ

    Tears stream over what slips away.

    The cup is not my concern, nor the goblet.

  2. نَحنُ ذِئابٌ ضَرّاؤُنا مَدَدٌ

    لا أُسدٌ وَالثِيابُ آجامُ

    We are wolves; our cover is our support,

    not lions—and garments are thickets.

  3. وَالناسُ شَتّى جَرى بِهِم قَدَرٌ

    إِذا طَغى لَم يَعُقهُ إِلجامُ

    And people are diverse; fate has borne them along:

    when it runs wild, no bridle can check it.

  4. وَعالَمي في سَفاهَةٍ وَخَنىً

    عالِمُهُ بِالظُنونِ رَجّامُ

    And my world is steeped in folly and obscenity;

    its scholar hurls conjectures.

  5. قَد كَتَبَ اللَهُ لِلرَدى صُحُفاً

    وَبانَ نَقطٌ لَها وَإِعجامُ

    God has written scrolls for death,

    and their dots and distinguishing marks are plain.

  6. فَيا سَحابَ المَنونِ سِلتِ بِنا

    هَل لَكِ أُخرى الزَمانِ إِنجامُ

    So, O cloud of death, you have poured upon us:

    will you let up at time's end?

  7. تَواصَلَت مِنكِ بَينَنا دِيَمٌ

    وَزيدَ فيها سَحٌّ وَإِثجامُ

    Your steady rains have fallen among us unbroken,

    and downpours and unceasing rain have been added to them.

  8. كَم أَسوَدٍ مِن أَمامِهِ حُجُبٌ

    عَلَيهِ ضَيفُ الأَذاةِ هَجّامُ

    Many a mighty lord, with curtains before him,

    is assailed by the intrusive guest of harm.

  9. وَأَحجَمَ القِرنُ عَن فَوارِسِهِ

    وَما لِرَيبِ المَنونِ إِحجامُ

    And the adversary held back from his horsemen,

    but death's ravages never hold back.

  10. تِلكَ بِلادُ النَباتِ ما سُقِيَت

    وَالغَيمُ فَوقَ الرِمالِ سَجّامُ

    Those plant-bearing lands have gone unwatered,

    while clouds pour down over the sands.