قِفا نَبكِ مِن ذِكرى حَبيبٍ وَأَطلالِ

بِذي الرَضمِ فَالرُمّانَتَين فأَوعالِ

Stop and weep at the memory of a beloved one and the ruins

At Dhi Al-Radma, where there are two pomegranate trees twisted together

وُقوفاً بِها صَحبي عَلَيَّ مَطيُهُم

يَقولونَ لا تَجهَل وَلَستَ بِجَهّالِ

My companions stopped there with me, their riding beasts under them

Saying, “Don’t be ignorant, you are no fool”

فَقُلتُ لَهُم عَهدِي بِزَينَبَ تَرتَعي

مَنازِلَها مِن ذي سُدَيرٍ فَذى ضالِ

I said to them, “My pact with Zainab is that she dwells

In her dwellings from Dhi Sudeir to the straying sands

إِلى حَيثُ حالُ المَيثُ في كُلِ رَوضَةٍ

مِنَ العَنكِ حَوّاءَ المَذانِبِ مِحلالِ

To where the ostriches wander in every meadow

Of Ank, seeking the far sided shelters

تَطاوَحَني يَومٌ جِديدٌ وَليلَةٌ

هُما بَليّا جِسمي وَكُلُّ فَتىً بالِ

A new day and night have assaulted me

Afflicting my body, and every hero suffers misfortune

إِذا ما سَلَختَ الدَهرَ أَهلَلتَ مِثلَهُ

كَفى قاتِلاً سَلخي الشُهورَ وَإِهلالِ

When you skin time itself of its hide

It’s enough, you have killed time and stripped it bare