1. Rise shepherd rise and obey me, write
What my mouth now dictates to you

2. Move the pen on paper and number with care
And composure, attention and caution

3. My tongue is ready for speech
And my hand flows without fatigue

4. And when speech fills the space
And I prolong the explanation, show no annoyance

5. And bear the burden of exertion with patience
And gently steel your resolve

6. Grip the pen firmly in my hand
Like a polished sword in the palm of a hero

7. The more I burden you with fatigue
The more zeal you must have without boredom

8. And overcome the difficult with resilience
And defeat despair with hope

9. You're made of iron not of reed
So who fears cracks from the pressure?

10. To describe this war has wearied eloquence
And its horrors have silenced advice

11. The describer finds not in the richest language
What would fulfill describing the desired

12. For we still see the evils of turmoil
Renewed whenever we say it has ended

13. Few among us have not stumbled in it
Or been marked by the embers of its live coals

14. The Germans deliberately ignited its fire
And relished its pain and enjoyed its bitterness

15. And though immersed in its fierce flames
They swore to avoid bloodshed

16. But finally when they were provoked
They sprang like angry lions

17. And the world was filled with the darkness of calamity
And misfortune befell all nations

18. Nearly four years have passed
And its flames have not subsided

19. And the Allies were sure they had cut
The path to victory in what they believed

20. When the Russians cast it off
And made peace with the Germans

21. And thereby the enemies unbound the Allies
And inflicted upon the Russians the worst revenge

22. And for Austria and for Germany
The pressure of fear was relieved and danger receded

23. And Bulgaria arrogantly claimed
To have attained a turning point

24. And the Turk became elated with it
At the songs of triumph and victory

25. They all sipped the nectar of joy
Oblivious to what the coming morrow would bring

26. And two-thirds of March passed
With groans rising from its depths

27. And all the people waited
For the unclear future to become clear

28. And then the Germans lifted the curtain
In France where they turned to attack

29. They justified resting to pluck the fruits
Before reaching the stage of their prime

30. They prepared their equipment before the assault
And fully exerted themselves in this endeavor

31. Seeking victory in the coveted triumph
They hurled soldiers and summoned numbers

32. And forcibly recovered across the border
What remained for them of reinforcements in Russia

33. And when they were deceived by a flash of success
They gave the land tidings of spreading blood

34. And they reckoned their ambitions would be met
And so their courage intensified

35. But hopes were dashed and failed
When the arrow did not hit and recoiled

36. At first their seizing early success deluded them
When they penetrated the line of defense

37. And they assumed the dawn of victory shone
And its light would soon radiate

38. So they persisted in invasion and occupation
And advanced by sacrificing victims

39. And disregarded every difficult request
And took lightly the harshest crises

40. An attack flared beyond description
They continued it, extended it, and widened it

41. And with irresistible determination
They seized some trenches by force

42. Their victories made them arrogant
And deluded them into feeling their enemies were weak

43. And into the abyss of turbulent demise
They threw their legions among the nations

44. They crossed the rivers and passed the plains
They crushed the hills and occupied fortresses

45. They trampled the pride of villages and cities
And made the inhabitants drink the cup of affliction

46. They tortured the captives and those led into captivity
And when their strength grew bitterer than aloes

47. Through all this the Allies were not afraid
And prepared to endure adversity

48. And took comfort when they unanimously elected
To meet the invaders with the strongest equipment

49. When the invaders approached its protection
He said, regarding its faith, that it was in my trust

50. So we counted his word as the revelation of a prophet
Knowledgeable about the unseen that none else knew

51. A hero for God, this hero
None in the assembly of heroes is his equal

52. And millions of soldiers obeyed
And complied with his command as pliantly as saplings

53. And the Allies, when they entrusted to him
The managing of their battle and hardship

54. And said to him, arrange for us
The plans of confrontation and chart for us

55. A lord of skill and cleverness that confounded
All the lords of wisdom and propriety

56. We found none more far-sighted than him
Nor more adept at resolving complexities

57. He deceived the Germans when the retreat
Returned, that reserves had run out

58. And that the enemy's army was not strong enough
And thus did not attack the dugouts

59. And according to this ideal approach
He advanced in his plan without wavering

60. Every inch he gained from it
Elicited the highest price

61. He engaged his opponent with tricks
And with the stratagem of intricate scheming

62. He undertook to pelt him from up close
Then twist away from him as though defeated

63. And he spent a hundred and twenty days
Persevering in this pattern

64. Making the exhaustion of enemies a pathway
For a ferocious attack never seen before

65. And when he fulfilled the conditions of preparation
With God's will affirming his conscience

66. He inflicted the enemies with the harshest defeats
And surprised them like inevitable destiny

67. This was when anxiety intensified
And danger upon Paris increased

68. And the invader reached its outskirts
After crossing the Marne

69. So the defender rose to revive hope
And dispel despair from the atmosphere of thought

70. And unleashed upon the Germans the swords of doom
Flooding them like an overflowing torrent