1. He who saw eyes that shed
Tears flowing down

2. Would know happiness until
The nights became unrecognizable

3. A glance follows a star
And a Yemeni glow

4. Each day it finds a quarter
Of life empty

5. With tears it has fragrances
And with blood, valleys

6. If you see a moist eyelid
Know the heart is dripping

7. Say to a lover on passion
I greeted you, oh valley

8. Where are people I knew
Who filled the plains

9. Their streams don’t lack
Water that flows turbid

10. They loved glory and built
Edifices on high

11. They mounted it while others
Climbed it step by step

12. A group, if tested by
Absence and deserts

13. Honored themselves greatly
And walked proudly

14. Kings who led nations
Submissive and unyielding

15. Not caring in leadership
For necks that rebel

16. And if today they meet
Those who find fault

17. They hurry steeds or
Ride them bareback

18. And gallop on their backs
Hanging onto their manes

19. Like lions of combat rode
Mares leaping

20. And when the sun’s mouth
In the morning drips heat

21. They guarded the honor of glorification
And climbed to the heights

22. How often they threw with their ride
Those heavy robes

23. Wronging the weak and
Trampling the dunes

24. They beautified the fat of old age
When it had become unsightly

25. Every brave one spends the night
Under the protection of a star

26. Their crowds made
The mountains overflow

27. Armor and shields
Feared them not

28. Hills became dust
And traveled far

29. And the bones of ordeals
Became scattered remains

30. And they passed on leaving
An inheritance of lasting glory

31. Whenever they won
Generosity they built edifices

32. While today they are
Neighbors who don’t respond to a caller

33. Humiliation knocked
At their dwellings that were guarded

34. And they pitched a camp
The likes of which was never seen

35. The hands of time have brought them down
To the most distant horizons

36. Like heavy rain I
Pelted them with my arrows

37. From their glory I adorned
Myself with necklaces and bracelets

38. And if I wished they competed
With the spears behind me

39. They lent me from their honor
Balanced and complete

40. So they deserved that I repay
Them from me, by hand or tongue

41. And if repayment falls short
I repay with verses

42. And I see after them the women
Of my people flirting

43. And men who reek
Of cold indifference

44. If they meet me as friends
They leave me as enemies

45. You don’t see people
Inflicting harm

46. Each day they prepare
To march against God

47. And they lead an army
Heedless and forgetful

48. The sheep feel safe
From the wolf nearby

49. We have returned laughing
And left crying

50. You see a man, if he faces
Disasters, shaking

51. With anxious heart looking
At who would answer the call

52. But when his night recedes
And the confidant leaves

53. He discards his worry
And wishes for hopes

54. Why does time
Bring calamities upon us

55. Each day it exposes us
To new afflictions

56. How much has it folded in loss
A relief for my heart

57. Supreme over the two watchful eyes
And second to the soul

58. It has become, with tears,
A commander over one who would forbid

59. I have stopped drinking it
After being entertained

60. Stop the wine, don’t make
The companion pour

61. If my tears flow
You’ll find the heart still dripping

62. Maybe you’ll know the burning
And see the tears still flowing