لي خلتان إذا قاني الأسى جزعاً

لي خلتان إذا قاني الأسى جزعاً

ونغصا عيشي واستهلكا جلدي

ونغصا عيشي واستهلكا جلدي

I have two traits that have made me taste sorrow and anguish,

I have two companions when grief afflicts me

Embittered my life and exhausted my endurance.

And makes my life bitter and wears out my patience -

كلتهما تطبيني نحو جبلتها

كلتهما تطبيني نحو جبلتها

كالصيد ينشب بين الذئب والأسد

كالصيد ينشب بين الذئب والأسد

Each lures me toward its own innate nature,

Both cure me according to their temperament

Like prey caught between the wolf and the lion.

As prey caught between wolf and lion.

وفاء صدقٍ فما فارقت ذا مقة

وفاء صدقٍ فما فارقت ذا مقة

فزال حزني عليه آخر الأبد

فزال حزني عليه آخر الأبد

True fidelity: never have I parted from someone dear

Loyal fidelity - never have I parted from a friend

And seen my grief for him cease, even at eternity's end;

Without my sorrow for him lasting forever.

وعزةٌ لا يحل الضيم ساحتها

وعزةٌ لا يحل الضيم ساحتها

صرامة فيه بالأموال والولد

صرامة فيه بالأموال والولد

And dignity in whose courtyard humiliation never dwells,

And dignity where wrong cannot enter -

Stern resolve against it, even when wealth and children are at stake.

A sternness regarding wealth and children.