هب الهوا وشجاك أن نسيمه

في ضفة الأَردن ريح سموم

The wind blew, and it saddened you that its breeze

On the bank of the Jordan is a scorching wind.

وأنا وأنت أذل من وتد ومن

عير باسطبل الهوان مقيم

And you and I are more abased than a stake, and than

A donkey dwelling in the stable of humiliation.

والشعب أضيع عندهم من سائل

قذر يمد ذراعه للئيم

And the people are more neglected by them than a beggar,

Filthy, stretching his arm toward a scoundrel.

والمرهقوه على حساب شقائه

بمناعة من بؤسه ونعيم

And their oppressors, at their suffering's expense,

Are immune to their misery and live in bliss.

هب الهوا فارتد لأَنفك مرتعاً

تعتز فيه منافذ الخيشوم

The wind blew; seek a pasture for your nose,

Where the nasal passages take pride,

في نجد حيث المجد ينفح ظله

شمماً بأنف الشيخ والقيصوم

In Najd, where glory's shade breathes

Lofty pride into the nose of the sheikh and the qaysum.

يا مدعي عام اللواء بلاؤنا

سيظل مهما خصصوه عمومي

O public prosecutor of the district, our affliction

Will remain general, however particular they make it.

خل الجريمة إن سر وقوعها

لو رحت تنشده تجده حكومي

Leave the crime aside; indeed, the secret of its occurrence—

If you went seeking it, you would find it governmental.

لا يستقيم الظل يا ابن أخي إذا

ما كان أصل العود غير قويم

The shadow cannot be straight, my nephew, if

The base of the stick is not straight.

زيتون برما رغم انفك داشر

ما زال وهو كذاك منذ قديم

Burma's olive trees, in spite of you, stand untended;

They remain so, as they have long been.

هب الهوا وأنا وأنت يهمنا

قبض المعاش بيومه المعلوم

The wind blew, and what matters to me and you is

Collecting our pay on its appointed day.

وحكومة السفهاء لم نعرف لها

وجهاً بهذا الموطن المشؤوم

And the government of fools—we have known no

Face for it in this ill-fated homeland.

باعوا البلاد وحضرتي وجنابكم

لكن بلا ثمن إلى حاييم

They sold the country, my esteemed self, and your honored self,

But for nothing, to Hayyim.