قَد نَضِجنا وَنَحنُ في الخَيشِ طُرّاً

أَنضَجَتنا كَواكِبُ الجَوزاءِ

We ripened while still green

We are thoroughly cooked, though sheltered in linen shades,

Ripened by the Pleiades.

Roasted by the fiery stars of the summer sky.

فَأَصيبوا لَنا حُسَيناً فَفيهِ

عِوَضٌ مِن جَليدِ بَردِ الشِتاءِ

Fetch sweetmeats for us - therein lies

So bring us Husayn, for in him we surely find

Solace from the ice-cold winter.

A substitute for the frozen ice of winter.

لَو تَغَنّى وَفوهُ مَلآنُ جَمراً

لَم يَضِرهُ لِبَردِ ذاكَ الغِناءِ

Were he to sing till his mouth filled with embers

If he were to sing with a mouth full of glowing coals,

That singing would not hurt him, for the cold of that song.

He would not burn, from the sheer coldness of that song.