1. إن تشْكُ كن في المشتكى كيِّسا

    ما كلُّ مصغٍ صدرُه رحبُ

    If you complain, be discerning in your complaint.

    Not every listener has an open heart.

  2. ربَّ أخ تشكو له و هْو من

    همومه ذاب له القلبُ

    You complain to many a brother, while from

    His own worries his heart has melted away.

  3. ....

    العمْر ُ يبدو لحظة تبرقُ

    ....

    Life seems a moment that flashes,

  4. و الدهر يوماً مَا لها يسرقُ

    من رازَ صرْفَ الدهر مستكشفا

    And time will one day steal it away.

    Whoever probes time's vicissitudes, seeking insight,

  5. صار يرى الموتَ بنا يحدقُ

    ....

    Comes to see death closing in on us.

    ....

  6. إذا ما غراب البين نادى لفرقة

    رأيت فؤادي فرّ منيَ هاربا

    When the crow of parting calls for separation,

    I see my heart flee from me, running away.

  7. و كيف سيبقى و هْوَ يعلم أنني

    أصير غداة البين بالبين ذائبا

    And how can it stay, when it knows that I

    Will melt from parting on the morning of parting?

  8. فيامن بكى نأْيَ الحبيبِ و لُمْتُه

    لقد صرتُ عما قلتْه لك تائبا

    So, O you who wept at the beloved's distance, whom I reproached,

    I have indeed come to repent of what I said to you.