1. Do you sit still in Tikrit, not in the tribe
Of witnesses, nor is the Sultan near you?

2. And our sons have made it a target
With the killing of Nizār—and wars are wars.

3. You are a man who has a dwelling for wisdom
And for religion and Islam you have a duty.

4. So leave a house you’ve dwelled in, for it
Is rotting carrion—wars have claimed it.