1. رَوِّح ذَبيحَكَ لا تُعجِلهُ ميتَتَهُ

    فَتَأخُذَ النَحضَ مِنهُ وَهوَ يَختَلِجُ

    Give your slaughtered beast respite; do not rush its death,

    lest you take its flesh while it still twitches.

  2. هَذا قَبيحٌ وَعِلمِيَ غَيرُ مُتَّسِقٍ

    بِما يَكونُ وَلَكِن في الثَرى أَلِجُ

    This is vile, and my knowledge is incomplete

    about what shall be; yet into the dust I go.

  3. وَالناسُ مِن أَجلِ هَذا الأَمرِ في ظُلمٍ

    وَما أُؤَمِّلُ أَنَّ الفجرَ يَنبَلِجُ

    And people, because of this matter, are in darkness,

    and I have no hope that dawn will break.

  4. مَضى أُناسٌ وَأَصبَحنا عَلى ثِقَةٍ

    أَنّا سَنَتبَعُ فَالأَشجانُ تَعتَلِجُ

    People have passed on, and we are now certain

    that we shall follow; so sorrows seethe.

  5. إِن أَدلَجوا وَتَخَلَّفنا وَراءَهُمُ

    شَيئاً يَسيراً فَإِنّا سَوفَ نَدَّلِجُ

    If they set out early in the night and we have lagged behind them

    a little while, then we shall set out late in the night.