1. O mattress of marble
And pillow of stone

2. In the hollow of a house, dark as winter's night
Narrow and cramped, its black walls reveal

3. No sunlight, no moonlight
Its resident unaware of wind or rain

4. O children of death, truly
The living may learn from the dead

5. It seems I see you now
Having sold homes to buy graves

6. Including my daughter, most precious
Of all women in my life and its joy

7. Whatever fate and destiny
Intended for my ancestors

8. Of what use was my caution,
My prayers and care?

9. O daughter, where have you gone
Now that Ramadan has come?

10. You were our joy at dusk and dawn.
You would pass its nights in worship

11. And recitation of scripture.
O father, the dead possess

12. No knowledge or news.
We look not for the new moon

13. Nor celebrate the Fast's end.
We keep no dawn vigils

14. As dawn approaches.
No feast days matter to us

15. Whatever the feast commands.
Beauty has vanished, father

16. And forms effaced.
We are in a world that has erased

17. Wanderer and settler alike
In soil that feels nothing

18. Of visitor or absent one.