1. دَعِ العَبراتِ تَنهَمِرُ اِنهِمارا

    وَنارَ الوَجدِ تَستَعِرُ اِستِعارا

    Let the tears pour down in torrents,

    And the fire of longing blaze fiercely.

  2. أَتُطفَأُ حَسرَتي وَتَقَرُّ عَيني

    وَلَم أوقِد مَعَ الغازينَ نارا

    Can my grief be quenched and my eye find comfort,

    While I have kindled no fire alongside the raiders?

  3. رَأَيتُ الصَبرَ أَبعَدَ مايُرَجّى

    إِذا ما الجَيشُ بِالغازينَ سارا

    I found patience the remotest of hopes,

    When the army marched with the raiders.

  4. وَأَعدَدتُ الكَتائِبَ مُعلَماتٍ

    تُنادي كُلَّ آنٍ بي سَعارا

    And I readied battalions bearing insignia,

    Calling out for me at every moment with fiery ardor.

  5. وَقَد ثَقَّفتُ لِلهَيجاءِ رُمحي

    وَأَضمَرتُ المَهاري وَالمِهارا

    And I have straightened my spear for battle,

    And made the Mahri camels and the colts lean.

  6. وَكانَ إِذا دَعانا الأَمرُ حَفَّت

    بِنا الفِتيانُ تَبتَدِرُ اِبتِدارا

    And whenever duty called us, there gathered

    Around us young men, rushing eagerly forward,

  7. بِخَيلٍ لاتُعانِدُ مَن عَلَيها

    وَقَومٍ لايَرونَ المَوتَ عارا

    With horses that do not resist their riders,

    And men who do not deem death a disgrace.

  8. وَراءَ القافِلينَ بِكُلِّ أَرضٍ

    وَأَوَّلُ مَن يُغيرُ إِذا أَغارا

    Behind the homeward-bound in every land,

    And the first to attack whenever he raids.

  9. سَتَذكُرُني إِذا طَرَدَت رِجالٌ

    دَقَقتُ الرُمحَ بَينَهُمُ مِرارا

    Men will remember me when they give chase,

    Among whom I shattered the spear time and again;

  10. وَأَرضٌ كُنتُ أَملَؤُها خُيولاً

    وَجَوٌّ كُنتُ أُرهِجُهُ غُبارا

    And a land I used to fill with horses,

    And a sky I used to cloud with dust.

  11. لَعَلَّ اللَهَ يُعقِبُني صَلاحاً

    قَويماً أَو يُقيلُني العِثارا

    Perhaps God will grant me a better state,

    A sound one, or lift me from my stumbles,

  12. فَأَشفي مِن طِعانِ الخَيلِ صَدراً

    وَأُدرِكُ مِن صُروفِ الدَهرِ ثارا

    So I may soothe my breast through cavalry lance-thrusts,

    And exact vengeance from the vicissitudes of time.

  13. أَقَمتُ عَلى الأَميرِ وَكُنتُ مِمَّن

    يَعُزُّ عَلَيهِ فُرقَتُهُ اِختِيارا

    I remained with the prince, and was among those

    Who find it hard to part from him by choice.

  14. إِذا سارَ الأَميرُ فَلا هُدوءٌ

    لِنَفسي أَو يَأوبُ وَلا قَرارا

    When the prince marches, there is no calm

    For my soul, nor rest, until he returns.

  15. أُكابِدُ بَعدَهُ هَمّاً وَغَمّاً

    وَنَوماً لا أَلَذُّ بِهِ غِرارا

    In his absence I endure worry and sorrow,

    And scant sleep in which I find no delight.

  16. وَكُنتُ بِهِ أَشَدَّ ذَوِيِّ بَطشاً

    وَأَبعَدَهُم إِذا رَكِبوا مَغارا

    Through him I was the fiercest of my kin in assault,

    And the farthest-ranging when they rode on a raid.

  17. أَشُقُّ وَراءَهُ الجَيشَ المُعَبّا

    وَأَخرُقُ بَعدَهُ الرَهَجَ المُثارا

    Behind him I cleave through the army arrayed for battle,

    And after him I pierce the rising dust cloud.

  18. إِذا بَقِيَ الأَميرُ قَريرَ عَينٍ

    فَدَيناهُ اِختِياراً لا اِضطِرارا

    If the prince lives on, his eye at peace,

    We would sacrifice ourselves for him willingly, not under compulsion.

  19. أَبٌ بَرٌّ وَمَولىً وَاِبنُ عَمٍّ

    وَمُستَنَدٌ إِذا ما الخَطبُ جارا

    A kind father, a patron, and a paternal cousin,

    And a refuge when calamity turns cruel.

  20. يَمُدُّ عَلى أَكابِرِنا جَناحاً

    وَيَكفُلُ في مَواطِنِنا الصِغارا

    He spreads a wing over our elders,

    And cares for the young in our homelands.

  21. أَراني اللَهُ طَلعَتُهُ سَريعاً

    وَأَصحَبَهُ السَلامَةَ حَيثُ سارا

    May God soon show me his face,

    And make safety his companion wherever he travels,

  22. وَبَلَّغَهُ أَمانِيَهُ جَميعاً

    وَكانَ لَهُ مِنَ الحَدَثانِ جارا

    And grant him all his wishes,

    And be his protector against the calamities of time.