أرى البحر مرآة هذي الحياة

فهو يحاكي مداها اتساعا

I see the sea as a mirror of this life;

for it matches her expanse in breadth.

وإبعاده مثل إبعادها

يضيق على الفهم أن تستطاعا

And its far reach is like hers,

beyond the mind's power to fathom.

ويصفو وتصفو فمحض سرورٍ

يروق الورى منظراً وسماعا

And the sea grows clear, and life grows clear—sheer joy

that delights humankind in sight and sound.

وإن كدُرا فشقاءُ العناصر

مثلُ شقاءِ النفوس نزاعا

And if both grow turbid, the misery of the elements

is like the misery of souls in strife.

وتغتال سَفرَ الوجود خداعاً

ويغتال سفرَ السفين خداعا

And life treacherously slays the travelers of existence,

and the sea treacherously slays the voyagers of ships.

فلا هي هابت عليها حصوناً

ولا هو هاب عليه شراعا

So life has feared no fortresses set against her,

nor has the sea feared a sail upon it.

وقد وضع اللَهُ حدّاً له

وَحَدّاً لأعمارنا وانقطاعا

And God has set a limit for it,

and a limit to our lifespans, and an end.

وسلَّط هوجَ الرياحَ عليه

وهوجَ الخطوبِ علينا تباعا

And unleashed raging winds upon it,

and raging calamities upon us, one after another.

فنحن كأَسماكه في الوجود

يغولُ الكبيرُ الصغيرَ ابتلاعا

So we are like its fish in existence:

the large destroy the small by swallowing them.

وأعمارنا كقراراته

انخفاضاً إذا اختلفت وارتفاعا

And our lifespans are like its depths,

in their lows and highs, as they vary.

وأيامُنا مثل امواجه

تجيءُ سِراعا وتمضي سِراعا

And our days are like its waves:

they come swiftly and pass swiftly.