تلاقيت والدنيا لقاء لفرقة

وبالرغم من أنفي اللقا والتفرق

The world and I met only to part,

And meeting and parting alike are against my will.

وعريت من أهلي صبينا فلم أذق

حنان أب يرعى علي ويشفق

Bereft of my family as a child, I never tasted

A father's tenderness, his watchful care and compassion.

فما مصعدٌ في شاهقات من الذرى

بأكثر مني وحشةً وهو معنق

For no climber amid the towering peaks

Is lonelier than I as he hastens onward.

فصادفت نفسي في الحياة كما خلا

بمزماره راع أملته أينق

So I found myself in life like one withdrawn—

A herdsman with his flute, wearied by she-camels.

أوازن بين الخير والشر تارةً

وهيهات أعياني بطني التعلق

At times I weigh good against evil;

But alas! Attachment to my belly has exhausted me.

وما بي من ذل ولا عجرفية

ولا أنا أخشى كيف كنت وأفرق

There is neither servility in me nor arrogance,

Nor do I fear or tremble, whatever my condition.

وأني لأدري أن العمر نهجه

وأن حياة المرء ثوبٌ سيخلق

And I know full well the course of life,

And that a person's life is a garment that will wear out.

ولو أنني خيرت ما اخترت لبسه

ولا شاقني تحييره والتنوق

Had I been given the choice, I would not have chosen to wear it,

Nor did its perplexities and refinement stir my longing.

ولو أن نفسي خيرت في طلابها

لكان لها فوق الحياة محلق

And had my soul been given a choice in what it sought,

It would have found a place to soar above life.

وما أزدري أبناء آدم إن بي

حقارتهم والند بالند ألحق

I do not despise the sons of Adam, for within me

Is their lowliness; and like is best matched with like.