1. When will he heed your words or repent,
While grief and wailing have worn us down.

2. None remain addicted to this love,
Neither these eyes, nor these hearts.

3. For when hardships befall a stranger,
Bitter destinies afflict the stranger.

4. How excellent a refuge the wilderness was,
Where tears flowed and sobbing lingered.

5. I long for Iraq's sanctuary, so guide me
To one who can soothe my plaintive love song.

6. Damascus and its people give me respite,
In Damascus, neither relatives nor strangers object.

7. May God water the land, wherever
Snowy mountains and meadows spread wide.

8. May the verdant Ghouta be watered by clouds
Raining down generously all they contain.

9. With thick, heavy downpours
And rumbling thunder and lightning.

10. You would think the meadows contained
Flocks of white birds, driven there by an unlucky day.

11. It has glades where gazelles appear and vanish,
Wilderness and thickets beyond.

12. A land which yearning deprived me of,
Its sorrows make the youth turn gray.

13. With relics too precious
For any newcomer to touch.

14. How many enemies of the clan of ‘Amr
Of noble lineage and proud ancestry!

15. Their mother was a virtuous woman of Tayy,
Their father a man of dignity and honor.

16. She hoped a lover would return to her,
A wish gone astray - where is her lover?

17. If she saw him, she would find him emaciated,
Robed by the waters of fate in gloom.

18. Like a sword stripped of its sheath,
Its assaults and strikes all gone.

19. Once wealthy, now a bereaved man lamenting,
His pockets draped in mourning's gown.

20. Thus he lives where no host helps a guest,
And no friend shelters an outcast.

21. In Egypt - but what haven exists in Egypt
When its elders are divided into factions?

22. It has parted with its youth like no other land parted,
Subjugated but answering its subjugator with defiance.

23. Nay, Hail to Hadhramaut's living people,
Its lords and youthful warriors.

24. Khaulan went forth without cowardice disgracing them,
Or fruitlessness making their actions barren.

25. None but them were rewarded with gifts,
None but them had sins forgiven.

26. They are lions in the dark night when they roar,
And preying wolves when they attack mounted.

27. They left no weak offspring behind them,
As the valleys left only strong gazelles.

28. Only the worthless remained,
Prey for time's humiliation and hardship.

29. Neither can the youth replace their elders,
Nor the old replace the departed youth.

30. Both are defective goods and damaged merchandise,
Which taste of the two is more palatable?

31. Of what value are freed slaves when
Flaws begin to show within them?

32. Can the untested be judged except by merit?
Or can the examiner err or judge right?

33. Is drawing the polished sword blameworthy,
When its edge was not meant to be blunt?

34. Circumstances have changed, Abu Saeed,
Sustenance has narrowed for people.

35. Mankind is lost in dark turmoil,
With its stars and suns setting.

36. They have lineage but no deeds,
Bodies, but no hearts.