1. Leave the social gathering of the languid fair ones,
And the passion of their languishing gazelles.

2. Pass the cups around, circling,
A steady flow like swaying boughs.

3. Leave luxury in clothes,
Drinks, furnishings and robes.

4. What joy for one who spends
His days sitting on the carpet of disgrace?

5. Who sees himself in endless woe
At the Turks' beck and call.

6. Who is tested by the palm
Of his enemy's injustice, in despair.

7. Whose day brings only loss,
Nothing left but petty gain.

8. Who sees his rights bartered
His blood sold in vile trade.

9. Who sees his homelands
Laid waste, with crumbling ruins.

10. Grief has clothed the bright-faced
Maidens, once like lovely brides.

11. My friend, your elegy moves me
Among their lofty, splendid tents.

12. Question the ruins about
The might that filled those encampments,

13. The glory that subdued
Tyrants, the terrible giants.

14. The brave battalions that raged
Against their overwhelming onslaught.

15. The strongholds made bold
By horsemen and guardians.

16. The singing cities adorned
With knights and steeds.

17. Where are the markets, industry,
Offices and schools?

18. Where are the farmlands and orchards
That thrived on the open range?

19. They are gone, and you see only
Sorrows to trouble the thoughts.

20. A howling wilderness where no
Sad voice of a settler is heard,

21. Save the winds of injustice that sweep
And scour it like brooms.

22. It has become a wasteland, seen only
Through downcast eyes.

23. It laughed once, then turned
Sullen, frowning and desolate.

24. Angry at mankind, it adopted
Wild beasts for guardians.

25. When humans approach, it crushes them
With the stomp of a transgressor.

26. These are the dwellings of a people, now gone,
Our tribe, content with little.

27. They passed away just as they passed their days,
While the best of goods went to the rival.

28. What can we expect after them,
Other than the onslaught of horsemen?

29. My people, to you I say: discard
Your burdens and loyalties!

30. Take the example of others not like you,
The resolute, determined nation.

31. Their vanguards surged forth, followed by
Every strong and practiced spearman.

32. They left the Turkish hordes
Battered by overwhelming defeat.

33. They filled the lowlands with their bodies,
Every head a crushing blow.

34. Take as an example for yourselves
Those stout-hearted men of principle.

35. Are you not the noble Arabs,
While they are the rabble, the sneezing mob?

36. So rouse against them a fire
To frighten every slumbering coward.

37. Against them, unite as one,
All of you, every one a comrade to the rest.

38. Leave off the talk of the partisan
Elders and peddlers of rumors.

39. They are hypocrites posing as
Devout men, nothing but impostors.

40. Walking among you beneath
Religious garb and clerical robes.

41. The worst of evil lurks
Between the turban and skullcap.

42. Their sly designs creep among you
With intrigues and temptations.

43. Among you, each day, zealotry wages
A war of destruction unseen.

44. They spread hatred and enmity,
Suspicion and incitement.

45. They scattered your unity
As palm fronds are scattered.

46. Through them, corruption thrives
And the Turks prevail unchallenged.

47. A people who have judged you
As falcon judges its prey.

48. And the wolves of oppression
Hunt you with jaws agape.

49. How long will you ponder their reform
When their nature is decadent?

50. Dazzled by the mirage of hope,
Though the night of despair remains.

51. Do you not see power held
In the hands of oppressors and tyrants?

52. On bribery and fraud they built
Courts and councils.

53. Truth belongs to those habituated
To betrayal and deceit.

54. All who blanch when reform
Is mentioned in their presence.

55. Their disgrace has spread, beyond
What the keenest minds can grasp.

56. It is a state where treachery thrives
And death scowls with hatred.

57. Where shedding blood is permitted,
Its outpouring urged by injustice.

58. Secrecy prevails, so one lives to see
Laws turn white-haired with age.

59. This is my attempt at translating and preserving the poem from Arabic to English. Let me know if you would like me to clarify or expand on any part of the translation.