نِلتُ في مصرَ كلَّ ما يرتجِي الآ

نِلتُ في مصرَ كلَّ ما يرتجِي الآ

مِلُ مِن رِفْعةٍ ومالٍ وجَاهِ

مِلُ مِن رِفْعةٍ ومالٍ وجَاهِ

In Egypt I attained all that a hopeful person desires:

In Egypt I attained all ambitions cherish

High rank, wealth, and prestige.

Wealth, status, rank - yet all did quickly perish

فاستردّتْ ما خوّلَتْني وما أَسْ

فاستردّتْ ما خوّلَتْني وما أَسْ

رَعَ نقْصَ الأمورِ عند التَّناهِي

رَعَ نقْصَ الأمورِ عند التَّناهِي

Then she reclaimed what she had bestowed on me—and how swift

What it had granted me, it soon retrieved

the decline of things when they reach their height!

Lessened, alas, as matters came to end

كنتُ فيهَا كأَنّني في مَنامٍ

كنتُ فيهَا كأَنّني في مَنامٍ

زالَ مِنهُ ما سَرَّ عند اُنْتبَاهي

زالَ مِنهُ ما سَرَّ عند اُنْتبَاهي

I was there as though I were in a dream;

My sojourn was as though it were a dream

What delighted me in it vanished when I awoke.

Its pleasures passed when I awoke, it seems