ظَلَّت بِقُمَّ مَطِيَّتي يَعتادُها

ظَلَّت بِقُمَّ مَطِيَّتي يَعتادُها

هَمّانِ غُربَتُها وَبُعدُ المُدلَجِ

هَمّانِ غُربَتُها وَبُعدُ المُدلَجِ

My mount remained at Qum, beset again and again

My mount stayed accustomed at Qummah

By two cares: its exile and the long road traveled by night,

Worried about its foreignness and the distance to its saddlebags

ما بَينَ عِلجٍ قَد تَعَرَّبَ فَاِنتَمى

ما بَينَ عِلجٍ قَد تَعَرَّبَ فَاِنتَمى

أَو بَينَ آخَرَ مُعرِبٍ مُستَعلِجِ

أَو بَينَ آخَرَ مُعرِبٍ مُستَعلِجِ

Between a non-Arab who had adopted Arab ways and claimed Arab descent,

Wavering between a stallion already arabized and naturalized

Or another, Arabic-speaking, who affected non-Arab ways.

And another in the process of becoming Arabized and acclimatized