1. أدامك الله أيها الطللُ

    وفدتك القلوب والمقل

    May God preserve you, O ruin,

    And may hearts and eyes be your ransom.

  2. أنت آثار دولة ذهبت

    وملوك الى الثرى رحلوا

    You are the remnants of a vanished dynasty,

    And of kings who departed to the dust.

  3. رزؤهم ربما يهونه

    أن سيمضي في إثرهم زحل

    Their loss may be made lighter

    By the fact that Saturn will follow in their wake.

  4. لكل حي من العباد مقا

    م قصير المدى ومرتحل

    For every living mortal there is a stay

    Of brief duration, and a departure.

  5. غير أن الذين أبصرهم

    قد يساوي آلافهم رجل

    Yet, as for those whom I see,

    One man may equal thousands of them.

  6. أيها القصر قد صمدت على الكر

    ه ولو أن خطبك الجلل

    O palace, you have stood firm despite hardship,

    Even though your calamity is immense.

  7. مشرف أنت من رباك على الخل

    ق لأغلا العظات ترتجل

    You overlook humankind from your heights,

    Extemporizing the most precious admonitions.

  8. تخطىء السمع غير أنك

    لا تخطىء قلبا بالله يشتغل

    You elude the ear, yet you

    Do not elude a heart occupied with God.

  9. أنا أدرى بما عنيت من القو

    ل وقلبي لوحيك النزل

    I know best what you meant to say,

    And my heart is the lodging for your inspiration.

  10. كنت بالملك حافلا زمنا

    بألوف الضيوف تحتفل

    For a time you were teeming with royalty,

    Celebrating with thousands of guests.

  11. للنهى والصلاح فيك وللجو

    د وللعز تلتقي سبل

    Within you, for wisdom, righteousness, and generosity,

    And for glory, paths converge.

  12. لك في أعين الورى حرم

    حال دون انتهاكه الأسل

    You hold a sacred place in the eyes of humankind;

    Spears stood in the way of its violation.

  13. قفوا قليلا به فليس له

    بتغاضي أمثالكم قبل

    Pause beside it a little, for it has no

    Strength to bear the disregard of people like you.

  14. مطرق مثل من أقام لإفشا

    ء حديث وعاقه الخجل

    Head bowed, like one who stood to disclose

    A tale, but shyness held him back.

  15. خاشع إن تراه تحسبه

    من خشية الله حفه وجل

    Reverent—if you see it, you would think

    Awe had enfolded it out of fear of God.

  16. قد وقاه الإله من ضرر النهر

    فما حف سوره البلل

    God has protected it from the river's harm,

    So damp has not enveloped its wall.

  17. من ذراه الطيور تخشع من

    تسبيح حيتانه فتبتهل

    From its heights, the birds grow reverent at

    The praise of its fish, and so they pray fervently.

  18. من سنا الملك قد تعطل لكن

    له من وقاره حلل

    It has been stripped of the radiance of kingship, yet

    It has robes of its own dignity.

  19. لم يزل شامخاً على مضض

    حاسر دون شأوه الجبل

    Still it stands lofty despite anguish;

    The mountain, exhausted, falls short of its stature.

  20. مرتع الأسد كان ثم غدت

    ترتع الشاة فيه والحمل

    It was the lion's pasture; then

    The sheep and the lamb began to graze within it.

  21. وزوال النعيم صيرنا

    لضروب الارزاء نحتمل

    And the passing of bliss has made us

    Endure calamities of many kinds.

  22. نحن في عالم كمسرح

    تمثيل أرى ستره سينسدل

    We are in a world like a stage

    For a performance; I see that its curtain will fall.