1. يا صاحِ تَوَقَّ من فَواتِ الفُرَصِ

    لا تَهْنَأُ عِيشَةُ امْرِىءٍ ذِي غصَصِ

    O friend, guard against letting opportunities slip away.

    The life of one beset by sorrows is not sweet.

  2. فالوُرْق وإن غَدَتْ بعَيْشٍ رَغَدٍ

    تبْكي وتنُوحُ دائماً في الْقَفَصِ

    For the gray doves, though they have come to live in ease,

    weep and lament continually in the cage.