سُئِلوا فَأَبَوا فَلَقَد بَخِلوا

فَلَبِئسَ لَعَمرُكَ ما فَعَلوا

They were asked but refused, so they were miserly indeed.

How wretched, by your life, was what they did!

أَبَكَيتَ عَلى طَلَلٍ طَرَباً

فَشَجاكَ وَأَحزَنَكَ الطَلَلُ

You wept over ruins, out of yearning love—

The ruins stirred you and the ruins made you grieve.