وَلَيلٍ كَجِلبابِ الشَبابِ رَقَعتُهُ

وَلَيلٍ كَجِلبابِ الشَبابِ رَقَعتُهُ

بِصُبحٍ كَجِلبابِ المَشيبِ طَلائِعُه

بِصُبحٍ كَجِلبابِ المَشيبِ طَلائِعُه

And a night like the cloak of youth I patched

I patched its night like the cloak of youth

With a dawn whose first gleams were like the cloak of gray hair.

With the dawn like the cloak of old age are its vanguards

كَأَنَّ سَماءَ اليَومِ ماءٌ أَثارَهُ

كَأَنَّ سَماءَ اليَومِ ماءٌ أَثارَهُ

مِنَ اللَيلِ سَيلٌ فَالنُجومُ فَواقِعُه

مِنَ اللَيلِ سَيلٌ فَالنُجومُ فَواقِعُه

As though today's sky were water stirred up

As if the sky of today is water stirred

By a torrent from the night, and the stars were its bubbles.

From the night a torrent so the stars are its debris