1. How are you broken, O flag,
As that flag folds,

2. The towering mountain laments its lion,
So it is in deep mourning.

3. My soul yearns for the virtuous youth,
The brave and noble man.

4. His face is most beautiful,
His speech most fragrant.

5. If the glory of Lebanon was personified in him,
It would have been embodied.

6. Eyes rain their tears
And the firm mountains soften.

7. And the dawn of hopes shines
In hearts and thoughts.

8. Who after him
Will wield that pen,

9. The pen of the candid adviser
That awakens determination,

10. The pen of the outspoken
That reveals injustice when supporting truth.

11. Pure in opinion, never
Placing himself in suspicion's position.

12. Balanced in action, his values
Weighed when values are weighed.

13. He taught the people how
Pacts are honored and commitments kept.

14. He taught the people that whoever
Dislikes tyranny does not oppress.

15. He taught the people how
Ideals are attained and summits stormed.

16. He taught the people that
Cowardice's miserable end is regret.

17. He taught the people that a free man
Is worth a thousand slaves.

18. He taught the people that with determination
What fate dictates can be matched.

19. A guardian like him, if
The nation bows, it will rise.

20. A deputy who awakened fervor
And from truth did not sleep.

21. Firm in peril, ascendant
At the highest of peaks.

22. He was not the cunning
Minister who rouses resentment.

23. Deceiving the people with pretense
And what is underneath the surface.

24. But when the Most High's decree descends
And He does not toss,

25. After Zakkour who can
Match the lion's leap into the fray,

26. And who has the insight of the wise
When making the choice.

27. A breeze humbling the winds,
For the resolute and firm.

28. The people have no leader
Guiding with truth, though some pretend.

29. And most beloved are those who shepherd
Nations, after shepherding sacred bounds.

30. I lament a family
Whose firm pillar collapsed.

31. A loyal wife
Whose rope of hope snapped.

32. And little children
Stung by the pain of orphanhood.

33. Then I complain, anguished,
Of the pain I suffer.

34. He was a bosom friend I lost,
So I lost boundless bounty.

35. My solace when distant,
My joy when nearby.

36. O you who deny the moon
Can be diminished, beware!

37. No blame, as this
Is the way of fate since ancient times.

38. Michel aimed for a goal
That whoever contended, collided.

39. Liberating a homeland is not
Easy for whoever pretends.

40. Except by both parties spending wealth
And shedding blood,

41. Or a sudden onslaught
With no warning or illness.

42. The departed persevered stubbornly
Without wearying.

43. Certain that the life of ignominy
Is not better than oblivion.

44. So he passed while exerting himself
And what he sought were nations.

45. With his soul, then with his soul
He began life and ended it.

46. So his share today
Is of eternity and glory.