أَرمدتَ أَمْ بِنَجومك الرمدُ

أَرمدتَ أَمْ بِنَجومك الرمدُ

فَقَد عادَ ضدّا كُلُّ ما تَعِدُ

فَقَد عادَ ضدّا كُلُّ ما تَعِدُ

Have your eyes grown sore, or is the soreness in your stars?

Have you gone blind or has blindness struck your stars?

For all you promise has turned to its opposite.

For everything you promise has turned contrary.

هَل في حسابك ما تُؤَمِّلُهُ

هَل في حسابك ما تُؤَمِّلُهُ

أَم قَد تَصَرَّمَ عِندَك الأمدُ

أَم قَد تَصَرَّمَ عِندَك الأمدُ

Does your reckoning hold what you hope for,

Does your reckoning include what you wish for?

Or has the allotted span run out for you?

Or has your appointed time run out on you?

قَد كُنتَ تَهمِسُ إِذ تُخاطبني

قَد كُنتَ تَهمِسُ إِذ تُخاطبني

وَتخطّ كُرهاً إِن عصَتكَ يَدُ

وَتخطّ كُرهاً إِن عصَتكَ يَدُ

You used to whisper when you spoke to me,

You used to whisper when you spoke to me

And write reluctantly if a hand disobeyed you.

And frown if my hand disobeyed you.

فَالآن لا عَينٌ وَلا أَثَرٌ

فَالآن لا عَينٌ وَلا أَثَرٌ

أَتَراكَ غيَّبَ شخصكَ البَلَدُ

أَتَراكَ غيَّبَ شخصكَ البَلَدُ

So now there is neither sight of you nor trace.

Now there is no sign or trace of you -

Has the land, I wonder, hidden you away?

Did the country hide your person from me?

وتُراكَ بِالعَذراءِ في عُرسٍ

وتُراكَ بِالعَذراءِ في عُرسٍ

أَم إِذ كذبتَ سَطا بكَ الأَسَدُ

أَم إِذ كذبتَ سَطا بكَ الأَسَدُ

And are you, I wonder, at a wedding with Virgo,

Or are you celebrating with the Virgin a wedding

Or, when you lied, did Leo pounce on you?

Or when you lied did the lion make a meal of you?

المُلكُ لا يُبقي عَلى أَحَدٍ

المُلكُ لا يُبقي عَلى أَحَدٍ

وَالمَوتُ لا يَبقى لَهُ أَحَدُ

وَالمَوتُ لا يَبقى لَهُ أَحَدُ

Royal power spares no one,

Kingship spares no one

And death leaves no one alive.

And death spares no one for death.