1. وكم مَيِّتٍ قد صار في التّربِ عَظمُهُ

    تراهُ عياناً بالأحاديثِ والذِكرِ

    How many a dead man, whose bones now lie in the earth,

    you see plainly through tales and remembrance;

  2. ويا ربَّ حيٍّ ميّتٌ لخمولهِ

    فسيانِ ذاكَ القصرُ والقبرُ في الفخرِ

    and many a living man is dead through his obscurity—

    so, in glory, that palace and the grave are alike.