فَلا تَصِفَنَّ الحَربَ عِندي فَإِنَّها

فَلا تَصِفَنَّ الحَربَ عِندي فَإِنَّها

طَعامِيَ مُذ بِعتُ الصِبا وَشَرابي

طَعامِيَ مُذ بِعتُ الصِبا وَشَرابي

So do not describe war to me, for it is

So describe not the war in my presence, for it

My food and my drink ever since I sold my youth.

Has been my food since I was a lad in my teens, and my drink.

وَقَد عَرَفَت وَقعَ المَساميرِ مُهجَتي

وَقَد عَرَفَت وَقعَ المَساميرِ مُهجَتي

وَشُقَّقَ عَن رُزقِ النُصولِ إِهابي

وَشُقَّقَ عَن رُزقِ النُصولِ إِهابي

And my heart has known the impact of nails,

And my forehead has felt the burden of its rough times,

And my skin was torn open, revealing the blue arrowheads.

As sustenance has dwindled and life has worn me down.

وَلَجَّجتُ في حُلوِ الزَمانِ وَمُرِّهِ

وَلَجَّجتُ في حُلوِ الزَمانِ وَمُرِّهِ

وَأَنفَقتُ مِن عُمري بِغَيرِ حِسابِ

وَأَنفَقتُ مِن عُمري بِغَيرِ حِسابِ

And I have plunged deep into time’s sweetness and bitterness,

I have waded through the sweetness of life and its bitterness.

And I have spent my years without reckoning.

And spent my years without keeping count.