يا مَحَلَّ المُلوكِ أَينَ ملوكٌ

ظافَرتهُم خِلالَكَ النعماءُ

O dwellings of kings, where are the kings

Whose blessings filled you, O abodes of joy?

نَعِمُوا والزَّمَانُ يَضحَكُ مِنهُم

رُبَّ ضَحكٍ يَكُونُ مِنهُ بُكَاءُ

They revelled, and time laughed at them -

Many a laugh leads on to weeping and woe.

هُدِموا وَالبِنَاءُ بَاقٍ مشيدٌ

ليتَهُم شُيّدوا وَهُدّ البِناءُ

They were laid low, yet their edifices remain,

Would that they had built, and destruction destroyed!