1. زهد الناس في العلو

    م وفي الشعر والأدب

    People have lost interest in the sciences,

    And in poetry and literature.

  2. وآتانا زماننا

    بعجيب من العجب

    And our age has brought us

    A marvel among marvels.

  3. كل ما كان قائما

    مستويا قد انتصب

    All that once stood upright,

    Straight and erect,

  4. صار أعلاه أسفلا

    فهو نكس قد انقلب

    Now has its top at the bottom;

    It is inverted, overturned.

  5. كل ما كان في الدما

    غ فقد صار في الذنب

    Everything that was in the brain

    Has now ended up in the tail.

  6. دفن الجود والندى

    فسد العجم والعرب

    Generosity and bounty lie buried;

    Non-Arabs and Arabs have grown corrupt.

  7. ما ترى غير باخل

    ساقط النفس والحسب

    You see none but a miser,

    Base in soul and honor.

  8. في يديه صبابه

    من تراب ومن ذهب

    In his hands is a scant remnant

    Of dust and of gold.

  9. وهو كالكلب دون ما

    في يديه إذا كلب

    And he is like a dog defending what

    Is in his hands, when he grows rabid.