1. Youth has departed, leaving my body,
And the gazelles have seen the gray hair at my temples,

2. And they have abandoned me, while their virtues still
Surround me, their beauties revolving around me.

3. When my hair went gray, no longer black,
I was not saddened by the loss of my brothers

4. Who carried the banner of their people
And drove the enemy back from their weakness.

5. The events in the city have
Pained me and undermined my dignity.

6. They dragged me in the dirt and left
No feather on my shoulders.

7. And there came a letter from Yazîd when
The saddle-girth was tightened on my she-camel.

8. It announced the death of the Banû ‘Abd and their brothers -
Destruction befell my kin!

9. And it announced the death of Usâmah and his brothers -
I was plunged in grief, my hearing dulled,

10. Like a drinker of wine whose mouth
Drools slowly as his tears overflow.

11. A confidant consoles me when in truth
Death has passed by my dear ones.

12. How can I sleep when, whenever my eyes
Close, cares for my brothers haunt me?

13. For them, Asmâ’ weeps incessantly
And says: “O my calamity and loss!”

14. By God, I will set forth at the head
Of armies, directing their spears at me,

15. Until I fill them with grief for their brothers
And drive their women before me as captives!