عجبت دختنوس لما رأَتني

قد عَلاني من المشيب خمارُ

Dukhnus was astonished when she saw me

With the grayness of old age overwhelming me

فأَهلت بصوتها وأَرنت

لا تهابى قد شاب مني العذارُ

She cried out with her voice and bleated

Do not hesitate, my freshness has grown gray

إِن تريني قد بان غرب شبابي

وأَنى دون مولدي أَعمارُ

If you see that the eve of my youth has passed

And my lifetime is less than my date of birth

ابن عامين وابن خمسين عاماً

أَي دَهرٍ أَلا له أَدهارُ

A two year old and a fifty year old man

Oh time, it surely has eras

ليت يسمى لها وجوبتها لي

يوم قالَت أَلا ترمَّ تغارُ

Would that she had called me by her pet name for me

The day she said, do not throw off restraint

ليتنا قبل ذلك اليوم متنا

أَو فعلنا ما يفعلُ الاحرارُ

Would that we had died before that day

Or done what free men do

فعل قوم تغانى الحين عنهم

لم اقاتل وقاتل العيزارُ

The deeds of a people song now ignores

I did not fight though the weak fought

فتوليت عنهم واصيبوا

وَبَقائي عنهم شنار وعارُ

So I turned away from them and they were vanquished

While my holding back from them was dishonor and shame

لهف نَفسي على شباب قريش

حين يأَتي برأسه المختارُ

My soul yearns for the youth of Quraysh

When the Chosen One comes to them with his message