ماذا الوُقوفُ على دارٍ بِذي سَلَمَ

عجماءَ أو قد عَراها عارِضُ البَكَمِ

What use is standing at the abode of one with a ladder,

Whether unintelligible or stripped bare by the veil of tears,

أحالَها الدهرُ عمّا كنتَ تَعهَدُهُ

وغالَ مستوطِنيها غائلُ الأُممِ

Time has changed it from what you used to tend,

And its inhabitants have departed to the tribes of nations,

حتى لقد أظلمَتْ من بَعدِهم ولقد

غَنوا بها وهمُ الأقمارُ في الظُّلَمِ

Until after them it grew dark, and truly

They sang of it while they were the moons in the darkness,

بَلُوا كما بَلِيَتْ آثارُهم ولَكَم

أبْلى دياراً وأهلاً سالِفُ القِدَمِ

They met the same fate as their ruins, and how much

Has time destroyed of home and family of old,

أملى الزَّمانُ لهم حيناً وغرَّهُمُ

ما خُوَّلوهُ من الدّنيا فلم يَدُمِ

Fortune allotted them a time and deluded them

With what they were allowed of this life, but it did not last,

مضَوْا وما استصحبُوا مالاً ولا نِعَماً

ونوقِشوا عن حساب المالِ والنِّعَمِ

They passed away, taking with them no money or bounty,

And they were questioned about the account of money and bounty,

لم يحْصُلوا حين وافاهُم حِمامُهُمُ

مِن كلِّ ما حَصَّلوا إلاّ عَلى النَّدَمِ

When their destiny came upon them,

From all they had gained they gained nothing but regret,

وصبوةُ النَّاسِ بِالدّنيا وشُغلهم

عمَّا سيَبقى بِما يَفنى من اللَّمَمِ

And people's intoxication with this life and their preoccupation

With what will vanish and not last of sorrows.