1. يعيش المرء في تعب ليحيا

    فيقضي العمر كله في عناء

    Man lives in toil to stay alive,

    And so spends his whole life in hardship.

  2. يؤجل حتفه يوما فيوما

    فيدنيه له طلب البقاء

    He postpones his death day after day,

    Yet the pursuit of survival brings it nearer to him.

  3. تجرعها مرارات مرارا

    بمر الداء أو مر الدواء

    He has swallowed it in bitter draughts, time and again,

    Through the bitterness of illness or the bitterness of medicine.