يا دَيرَ حَنَّةَ مِن ذاتِ الأُكَيراحِ

مَن يَصحُ عَنكَ فَإِنّي لَستُ بِالصاحي

O monastery of Hannah of abundant pastures

O Monastery of Hannah in Dhat al-Ukayrah,

Who can defend you, for I am not able

whoever remains sober of you, I am certainly not the sober one.

رَأَيتُ فيكَ ظِباءً لا قُرونَ لَها

يَلعَبنَ مِنّا بِأَلبابٍ وَأَرواحِ

I saw in you gazelles without horns

I saw within you gazelles that possess no horns,

Playing with our minds and souls

yet they toy sportively with our wits and our souls.

يَعتادُهُ كُلُّ مَحفوفٍ مَفارِقُهُ

مِنَ الدِهانِ عَلَيهِ سَحقُ أَمساحِ

Everyone who leaves gets accustomed to it

It is frequented by those with unkempt hair-partings,

The plaster upon it is worth breaking pots

clad in worn-out sackcloth instead of grooming oils.

في عُصبَةٍ لَم يَدَع مِنهُم تَخَوُّفُهُم

وُقوعَ ما حُذِّروهُ غَيرَ أَشباحِ

In a group that did not spare their fears

Among a company whose dread has left nothing of them—

The occurrence of what they were warned of, other than ghosts

fearing the doom they were warned of—save for mere specters.

لا يَدلِفونَ إِلى ماءٍ بِآنِيَةٍ

إِلّا اِغتِرافاً مِنَ الغُدرانِ بِالراحِ

They do not draw near water with vessels

They do not shuffle toward water carrying vessels,

Except sipping from deceit with ease

save to scoop it from the pools with their open palms.