يقولون قد كُنَّا وكان زمانُنا

ولم ندرِ إِلاَّ ما نرى منهمُ الآنا

They say we were and our time was,

And we knew nothing but what we now see in them.

فقلتُ وقد كان الخراءُ حلاوةً

فقومُوا كُلُوا مِنْه عَلى أَنَّه كَانَا

So I said, though the fresh herbage was sweetness itself,

Get up and eat of it as if it had been.