1. I used to hear of time yet not see
That time could pluck the feathers of my wings

2. So I see it swifter in me until my plumage
turned white, the quills of my pinions weary.

3. And I, elder to a people,
Alas! How many souls have I outlived!

4. I clasped one with shriveled skin and my birth
overlapped with Shimr ibn ‘Amr feared for his soul.

5. And Qayl, he of Yazan-I saw his place
seized through oppression by Janaadil's clan.

6. So time played havoc with the Himyarite rule,
raging at dusk and dawn.

7. Abu Karib was undone, and ‘Amr before him,
And it destroyed the rule of Udhayna the Eloquent.

8. And it destroyed Afriqis after his reign
in a kingdom swept by the overwhelming flood.

9. And Sa‘b, he of the two horns, lies desolate
amid the sand, the sport of spirits.

10. And gone are the days of Abraha the Elephant,
robbed of dawn's first light.

11. It grieved me in my summer days, diverting it
to monopolize al-Jadhimah, so eloquent.

12. Where is the glory of ‘Alqamah the Valiant and his rule?
Where is the might of ‘Abadah the Conqueror?

13. Do not doubt the unknown, can you not see
his days are famed for clarity?

14. Do not feel safe from the cunning of Time,
for it ruined Shamr, so eloquent.

15. Time smiled on the son of Hatik, his throne,
and on Udhayna, tearer of wings,

16. and on him whose abode the looting of the Persians
and every bold plunderer once knew.

17. After the rule of China, he was destroyed –
honor him, a generous conqueror.

18. Those who ruled and were then destroyed
and the contented man met with distress.

19. Their forms loomed in the far horizon
and the mirage made them seem like ghosts.

20. After the loss of kings from Himyar,
can triumph be hoped when no triumph comes?

21. Who ever clasped hands with loss
or bought the souls with faith?