1. أنا القصِيدُ ومَتْني حِبرُهُ الوجَعُ

    في كُلّ بيتٍ عويلٌ قَدَّهُ الهَلَعُ

    I am the poem, and pain is the ink of my text.

    In every verse, a wail torn open by panic.

  2. أنا السّليلُ لإرث غاب من أزلٍ

    كان الأثيلَ بأرضٍ أهْلُها سَطَعوا

    I am the scion of a heritage lost since time immemorial,

    Once deep-rooted in a land whose people shone.

  3. سَماؤُنا حَبِلَت مِنْ فُجْرِ مُغْتَصِبٍ

    وأرضُنا عَنوةً تُسْبى وتُنْتَزَعُ

    Our sky grew pregnant from a ravisher's depravity,

    And our land is taken captive by force and wrested away.

  4. صِرْنا مَطايا ولمْ تَنْهَضْ عَزائِمُنا

    أشْتاتُنا اعْتَلَجَتْ عاثَتْ بِها الشِّنَعُ

    We became mounts, and our resolve did not rise.

    Our scattered groups clashed; atrocities ravaged them.

  5. غابَ الرَّجاءُ بغِربيبٍ بهِ هَجَعَت

    عَيْنُ الأماني لعُربٍ فأْلُهُمْ شِيعُ

    Hope vanished in pitch-black gloom; within it slumbered

    The eye of Arab hopes—factions are their omen.

  6. يا وَيحَ نائِحةٍ نادَت عَلى عَرَبٍ

    شَراذِمٍ وفُرادى هاجَهَم فَزَعُ

    Alas for a wailing woman who cried out over Arabs:

    Scattered bands and lone individuals, stirred by panic.

  7. ناحَ الرَّويُّ على أطْلالِ عِزّتِنا

    إنا غُثاءٌ بِهَ قَدْ ضاقَتِ الشِّرَعُ

    The rhyming consonant wailed over the ruins of our glory.

    We are indeed flotsam, of which the laws have grown weary.

  8. قومي تنحّوا عَنِ الأمْجادِ وانْدَحَروا

    لا غِبْطةٌ يَجْتَبيها الشِّعْرُ مُذْ خَنَعوا

    My people withdrew from glory and were routed.

    No joy has poetry gathered since they bowed in submission.