1. يا دَعوَةَ مغبرة قاتِمَة

    كَأَنَّها مِن سَفَر قادِمَه

    O dusty, gloomy feast,

    as though newly arrived from a journey.

  2. قَد قَدموا فيها مَسيحية

    أَضحَت عَلى أَسلافِها نادِمَه

    They served a Masihiyya, a 'Christian' dish,

    that had come to regret its forebears.

  3. ثُمَ لشطرنجيةٍ لَم تَزَل

    أَيدٍ وَأَيدٍ حَولَها حائِمَه

    Then, around a Shatranjiyya, there were always

    hands upon hands hovering.

  4. فَلَم نَزل في لعبها ساعَة

    ثُم نَفَضناها عَلى قائِمَه

    We kept playing with it for an hour,

    then shook it out upon a leg.

  5. وَبَعدَها معتدة اِختها

    عابدة قائِمة صائِمَه

    And after it, its sister, keeping her waiting period:

    devout, standing, fasting.

  6. في حجرها أَطراف مُوؤدة

    قَد قتلتها أُمَها ظالِمَه

    In her lap were the limbs of a girl buried alive;

    her mother had killed her unjustly.

  7. وَالقَنبيات فَلا تَنسها

    فَحيرَتي في وَصفِها دائِمَه

    And the Qannabiyyat—do not forget them;

    for my bewilderment in describing them is endless.

  8. أَقنّب ما اِمتَدَ في اِصبَعي

    أَم حَية في وسطها نائمه

    Is what stretched along my finger hemp,

    or a snake asleep in their midst?

  9. وَالموكبيات بسُلطانِها

    قَد تَرَكَت آنافنا راغمَه

    And the Mawkibiyyat, with their might,

    had left our noses in the dust.

  10. وَالسَلحة الصَفراء فَأَعجَب بِها

    إِذا سَلحتها أَنفُس هائِمَه

    And the yellow turd—marvel at it,

    when distraught souls have shat it out.

  11. وَالحَسكيات فَلا تَنسَ في

    خَندَقِها أَوتادَها القائِمة

    And the Hasakiyyat—do not forget, in

    their trench, their upright stakes.

  12. وَجام صابونية بِعدَها

    فَاِفخَر بِها إِذ كانَت الخاتِمَه

    And a bowl of Sabuniyya after them;

    so boast of it, since it was the final course.

  13. ظَلَ الكَراريسي مُستَعبِراً

    مِن عُصبة في دارِهِ طاعِمَه

    Al-Kararisi kept shedding tears

    over a group eating in his house.

  14. وَقالَ إِن إِبني عَليل وَلي

    قِيامة مِن أَجلِهِ قائِمَه

    And he said, 'My son is ill, and for me

    a Day of Resurrection has arisen on his account.'

  15. وَوَلولت داياته حَوله

    وَلَيسَ إِلّا عبرة ساجِمَه

    And his nurses wailed around him;

    and there was nothing but a streaming tear.

  16. وَلَيسَ هَذا لِسوى كسرةٍ

    تكسر ما زالَت لَهُ سالِمَه

    And this was for nothing but a scrap of bread

    being broken—one that had always remained intact for him.

  17. وَقَد أَكَلناها فَكَم هَيَجَت

    مِن لاطم خَداً وَمِن لاطِمَه

    And we ate it—how many it roused:

    men slapping cheeks, and women doing the same!

  18. ثُم هَرَبنا نَحوَ بُستانِهِ

    خَوفاً مِن المَنية العازِمَه

    Then we fled toward his garden,

    for fear of resolute Death.

  19. ظَلَنا لَدى الكراث نَلهو بِهِ

    فَيا لَهُ مِن زَهرة قائِمَه

    We stayed beside the leeks, playing with them;

    so what an upright flower it was!

  20. وَغاية اللُطف فَفي جَرّة

    محطومَةٍ صارَت لَنا حاطِمَه

    And the height of refinement: into a jar,

    shattered, which became our shatterer,

  21. نَبول فيها ثُمَ نَسقي بِها

    يا لَكَ مِن عارِضَةٍ لائِمَه

    we urinate, then water with it.

    O, what a reproachful cloud you are!

  22. وَعجلة تَشدو بِأَلحانِها

    وَكانَت الكيسة الحازِمَة

    And ʿAjla sings her melodies,

    and she was the clever, resolute one.

  23. فَكانَ فيما أَنشَدَت إِذ شَدَت

    مَن لي مِن بَعدكظ يا فاطمه

    So among what she recited when she sang was:

    'Who is there for me after you, O Fatima?'

  24. نشتم مِن أَسمعنا صَوتَها

    وَهِيَ لَنا مِن بَعدِهِ شاتِمَه

    We curse whoever made us hear her voice;

    and she, after him, curses us.