أقول وخَفَّتْ من دمشق ركائبي

وجدَّ بها تِلْقَاءَ حمصَ مَسيرُ

I say, as my mounts sped away from Damascus,

and my journey upon them pressed earnestly toward Homs:

وأسرعها عندي من الشوقِ واقفٌ

وأطولُ مسراها لديَّ قصير

even the swiftest of them, to me, stands still for longing,

and even their longest course, in my eyes, is short.

وقد صيَّرتْ لبنانَ من عن شمالها

وصار على ذاتِ اليمينِ سَنير

They had set Lebanon off to their left,

while Sanir came to lie on the right.

عسى مَنْ أرى يعقوبَ غُرَّةً يوسفٍ

يُرِينيهِمُ إِنَّ القديرَ قدير

May He who showed Jacob Joseph’s radiant face

show them to me—for the All-Powerful is all-powerful.