1. أجوب فيافي العيش سدمان حئراً

    ومالي من لفح الزمان مقيل

    I roam life's wildernesses, grief-stricken and bewildered.

    And I have no refuge from time's scorching blast.

  2. لقد طال بي التسيار حتى أملني

    ولو أن ألوان السماء شكول

    My wandering has indeed gone on until it wearied me,

    Even though the sky's colors are manifold.

  3. يسود شجوى كل ما أنا مبصر

    فكل سناء قد عراه ذبول

    My grief darkens everything I behold,

    For every radiance has been overtaken by withering.

  4. يقيدني ثقل الهموم إلى الثرى

    فليس إلى السعي الجليل سبيل

    The weight of cares fetters me to the earth,

    So there is no way to noble endeavor.

  5. كنسر يريد النهض لا يستطيعه

    وهيهات منه والجناح ثقيل

    Like an eagle that longs to rise but cannot,

    And rising is far beyond its reach, its wing heavy.

  6. وليلٍ كأن الموت أرخى ظلاله

    عليه فتامور الظلام قتيل

    And many a night, as though death had cast its shadows

    Upon it, so the heart of darkness lay slain.

  7. إذا عن فيه البرق كالخيط أبصرت

    غياهبه الألحاظ كيف تصول

    When lightning appears within it like a thread, revealed

    To the eyes is how its dark depths charge forth.

  8. وإن هبت الأرواح من رقداتها

    حسبت الدنا جذت لهن أصول

    And if the winds awaken from their slumbers,

    I thought the worlds' roots had been severed for them.

  9. تجسم لي وهمي به فسحبتني

    أرى حلماً تنهار منه عقول

    My delusion took shape before me there and drew me away;

    I behold a dream that makes minds crumble.

  10. كأن الربيع الطلق جاد بنفسه

    وغال قوى هذي الطبيعة غول

    As though radiant spring had given up its life,

    And a ghoul had ravaged the powers of this natural world.

  11. فلا الصبح مرجوٌّ ولا الليل منتهٍ

    ولا النفوس الحائرات دليل

    So no dawn is hoped for, nor does the night end,

    Nor have the bewildered souls a guide.

  12. وأبصرت روضاً هائج النبت كظه

    وجلله شوك عليه طويل

    And I saw a garden choked by rampant growth,

    And tall thorns covered it, rising above it.

  13. تناولت منه شوكه ولففتها

    لرأسي إكليلاً وذاك يهول

    I took its thorns from it and wound them

    Into a crown for my head—and that was fearsome.

  14. فظل يضج الناس إذ يبصرونني

    ويضحك مني عالم وجهول

    So people kept clamoring whenever they saw me,

    And the learned and the ignorant laughed at me.

  15. ويلتف حولي صبيةٌ يعبثون بي

    ويغضي حياءً صاحبٌ وخليل

    And boys gathered round me, making sport of me,

    And a companion and a dear friend looked down in shame.

  16. مضيت فلم أنهر صبياً مرهقا

    ولم أحفل الشياب كيف تقول

    I went on, without scolding an adolescent boy,

    Nor did I heed how the gray-haired elders spoke.

  17. وفي أذني صوتٌ ندىٌّ يحثني

    يميد بعطفي حسنه ويميل

    And in my ear a sweet voice urged me onward,

    Its beauty set my body swaying and bending.

  18. أشق به هذا الأنام كأنهم

    وما أطنبوا فيه الغداة فضول

    With it I cut through these people, as though they

    And what they held forth on this morning were mere trifles.