كم قد رأيتُ بهذا القصر من مَلِكٍ

كم قد رأيتُ بهذا القصر من مَلِكٍ

دارتْ عليه صروفُ الدهر فاخْتُلِسا

دارتْ عليه صروفُ الدهر فاخْتُلِسا

How many a king I have seen in this palace,

How many a king have I seen in this palace

Time’s vicissitudes turned against him, and he was snatched away.

Whom the vicissitudes of fate stole away

كأنه والذي قد كان يجمعه

كأنه والذي قد كان يجمعه

طيفٌ تَصوَّر للرائي إذا نَعَسا

طيفٌ تَصوَّر للرائي إذا نَعَسا

As though he and what he had been amassing

As if he and what he had gathered

Were a phantom that took shape before the beholder as he dozed.

Were a specter that appeared to a dreamer when he slept