1. Those in authority enthroned throughout the ages,
And those crowned in bygone times,

2. Whose weeping for their fire increases,
Kindling it with naught but tears,

3. And those who sacrificed for their families,
And struck the tyrant’s crest,

4. Rising from lowlands to sublime heights,
Excavating cave after cave,

5. Though numerous as pebbles or glorious,
Among the free a shattered vessel,

6. Whose hopes disappoint and hopes fade,
While a neighbor sleeps, mighty of means,

7. For them Sinjabus weeps copious tears,
As the onrushing currents and tide,

8. And the lofty palace weeps, its parapets
Gleaming amidst verdant trees,

9. Never smiled on by sun, but when empty,
Its sides sprinkled with guardians’ water,

10. The lutes weep, their strings lament
In its grounds, the birds cry as one,

11. O sun of that palace, how did the fates
Escape from it into your realm?

12. When nations exceeding the might of men
And lofty heroes overcame it.

13. Many lions rested there, drowsy,
Your guardians, with incisors and fangs.

14. Of your people, bright of face when war cries,
Donned the dark gall of disgrace.

15. From every staunch warrior in the fray
Toward defenders with flames akindle.

16. Their builder raised them to magnificence
Then left them to brief lives,