1. ما بَعدَ يَومِكَ ما يَسلو بِهِ السالي

    وَمِثلُ يَومِكَ لَم يَخطُر عَلى بالي

    After your day, nothing remains to console one seeking solace;

    And a day like yours had never crossed my mind.

  2. وَكَيفَ يَسلو فُؤادٌ هاضَ جانِبَهُ

    قَوارِعٌ مِن جَوى هَمٍّ وَبَلبالِ

    And how can a heart find solace when its side is shattered

    By blows from the searing anguish of grief and turmoil?

  3. يا قَلبِ صَبراً فَإِنَّ الصَبرَ مَنزِلَةٌ

    بَعدَ الغُلوِّ إِلَيها يَرجِعُ الغالي

    O my heart, be patient: patience is a station

    To which the one who goes too far returns after excess.

  4. وَلا تَقُل سابِقٌ لَم يَعدُ غايَتَهُ

    فَما المُقَدَّمُ بِالناجي وَلا التالي

    And do not say, 'One who went ahead did not pass his limit';

    For neither the one ahead nor the one following escapes.

  5. نَقصُ الجَديدينِ مِن عُمري يَزيدُ عَلى

    ما يُنقِصانِ عَلى الأَيّامِ مِن حالي

    What day and night take from my lifetime outweighs

    What they take from my fortunes as the days pass.

  6. دَهرٌ تُؤَثِّرُ في جِسمي نَوائِبُهُ

    فَما اِهتِمامي إِذا أَودى بِسِربالي

    Time, whose calamities leave their marks on my body—

    So why should I care if it destroys my garment?

  7. نَغتَرُّ بِالحِفظِ مِنهُ وَهوَ يَختُلُنا

    كَما يَغُرُّ ذُبولُ الجَمرَةِ الصالي

    We are beguiled by its protection while it deceives us,

    As a fading ember deceives the one warming himself.

  8. مَضى الَّذي كُنتُ في الأَيّامِ آمُلُهُ

    مِنَ الرِجالِ فَيا بُعداً لِآمالي

    Gone is he in whom I placed my hope through the days,

    Among men—alas, how far beyond reach my hopes!

  9. قَد كانَ شُغلي مِنَ الدُنيا فَمُذ فَرغَت

    مِنهُ يَدي زادَ طولُ الوَجدِ أَشغالي

    He was my concern in this world; and since

    My hand was emptied of him, lasting grief has multiplied my cares.

  10. تَرَكتُهُ لِذُيولِ الريحِ مُدرَجَةً

    وَرُحتُ أَسحَبُ عَنهُ فَضلَ أَذيالي

    I left him a pathway for the wind's trailing skirts,

    And departed, dragging my long trailing hems away from him.

  11. كَأَنَّني لَم أَدَع في الأَرضِ يَومَ ثَوى

    مُوَدِّعاً شَطرَ أَعضائي وَأَوصالي

    As though, the day he lay at rest, I had not left in the earth

    Half my limbs and joints, as I bade farewell.

  12. ما بالِيَ اليَومَ لَم أَلحَق بِهِ كَمَداً

    أَو أَنزِعِ الصَبرَ وَالسُلوانَ مِن بالي

    Why have I not joined him today through consuming grief,

    Or torn patience and consolation from my mind?

  13. عَواطِفُ الهَمِّ ما تَنفَكُّ تُرجِعُ لي

    مِن ذاهِبٍ وَجَديدِ الوَجدِ مِن بالِ

    The recurring surges of sorrow never cease to bring back to me

    What has gone, and fresh grief out of the old.

  14. ما شِئتُ مِن والِدٍ يودي وَمِن وَلَدٍ

    يَمضي الزَمانُ بِآسادي وَأَشبالي

    Many a father perishes, and many a son—

    Time carries off my lions and my cubs.

  15. بِالمالِ طَوراً وَبِالأَهلينَ آوِنَةً

    ما أَضيَعَ المَرءَ بَعدَ الأَهلِ وَالمالِ

    With wealth at one time, and with loved ones at others—

    How bereft a man is once family and wealth are gone!

  16. أُليحُ مِنهُ رُوَيداً أَو عَلى عَجَلٍ

    لَو كانَ يَنفَعُ إِروادي وَإِعجالي

    I would recoil from it, slowly or in haste,

    If my slow pace or my haste could help.

  17. ما أَعجَبَ الدَهرَ وَالأَيّامُ دائِبَةٌ

    تَسعى عَلى عَمَدٍ نَحوي وَتَسعى لي

    How strange is time, while the days labor unceasingly,

    Deliberately pursuing me, yet working for me.

  18. نُحِبُّها وَعَلى رُغمٍ نُوَدِّعُها

    إِلى المَنونِ وَداعَ الصارِمِ القالي

    We love them, yet against our will we bid them farewell,

    Bound for death, with the farewell of one who severs ties in hatred.

  19. كَم أَنزَلَ الدَهرُ مِن عَلياءَ شاهِقَةٍ

    وَشالَ مِن قَعرِ نائي الغَورِ مِنهالِ

    How many has time brought down from a towering height,

    And raised from the floor of a deep, crumbling abyss!

  20. وَكَم هَوى بِعَظيمٍ في عَشيرَتِهِ

    مِطعامِ أَندِيَةٍ طَعّانِ أَبطالِ

    And how many a man, great among his clan, has it cast down—

    A lavish feeder of gatherings, a piercer of champions,

  21. عالٍ عَلى نَظَرِ الأَعداءِ يَلحَظُهُم

    لَواحِظَ الصَقرِ فَوقَ المَربَإِ العالي

    High above his enemies' gaze, watching them

    With a falcon's glances from above the lofty lookout!

  22. لَئِن تَرامَت بِكَ الأَعوادُ مُعجِلَةً

    عَنِ الدِيارِ إِلى مُزوَرَّةِ الخالي

    If indeed the bier's timbers have hurried you away

    From home to the lonely one's secluded abode,

  23. فَلَيسَ حَيٌّ مِنَ الدُنيا عَلى ثِقَةٍ

    وَالدَهرُ أَعوَجُ لا يَبقى عَلى حالِ

    Then no living soul in this world is secure;

    And time is crooked, never remaining in one state.

  24. فَلا يَسُرُّكَ إِكثاري وَلا جِدَتي

    وَلا يَغُمُّكَ إِقتاري وَإِقلالي

    So let neither my abundance nor my riches delight you,

    Nor let my poverty and scant means grieve you.

  25. أَرى يَقينَ المُنى شَكّاً فَأَرفُضُهُ

    ما أَشبَهَ الماءَ في عَينَيَّ بِالآلِ

    I see the certainty of hopes as doubt, and reject it;

    How like a mirage water looks in my eyes!

  26. قُبِّحتِ يا دارُ مِن دارٍ نُغَرُّ بِها

    فَأَنتِ أَغدَرُ مِظعانٍ وَمِحلالِ

    Accursed be you, O abode—an abode by which we are beguiled!

    For you are the most treacherous place of departure and dwelling.