فَاسْتَبْدَلُوا بِالْقُصُورِ الْمُشَيَّدَةِ، وَالـنَّمارِقِ الْمُمَهَّدَةِ، الصُّخُورَ وَالاْحْجَارَ الْمُسَنَّدَةَ، وَالْقُبُورَ اللاَّطِئَةَ الْمُلْحَدَةَ، الَّتي قَدْ بُنِيَ عَلَى الْخَرَابِ فِنَاؤُهَا، وَشُيِّدَ بِالتُّرَابِ بِنَاؤُهَا، فَمَحَلُّهَا مُقْتَرِبٌ، وَسَاكِنُهَا مُغْتَرِبٌ، بَيْنَ أَهْلِ مَحَلَّة مُوحِشِينَ، وَأهْلِ فَرَاغ مُتَشَاغِلِينَ، لاَيَسْتَأْنِسُونَ بِالاْوْطَانِ، وَلاَ يَتَوَاصَلُونَ تَوَاصُلَ الْجِيْرَانِ، عَلَى مَا بَيْنَهُمْ مِنْ قُرْبِ الْجِوَارِ، وَدُنُوِّ الدَّارِ، وَكَيْفَ يَكُونُ بَيْنَهُمْ تَزَاوُرٌ، وَقَدْ طَحَنَهُمْ بِكَلْكَلِهِ الْبِلَى، وَأَكَلَتْهُمُ الْجَنَادِلُ وَالثَّرَى؟
Their magnificent places and spread-out carpets were changed to stones, laid-in-blocks and cave-like dug out graves whose very foundation is based on ruins and whose construction has been made with soil. Their positions are contiguous, but those settled in them are like far flung strangers. They are among the people of their area but feel lonely, and they are free from work but still engaged (in activity). They feel no attachment with homelands nor do they keep contact among themselves like neighbours despite nearness of neighbourhood and priority of abodes. And how can they meet each other when decay has ground them with its chest, and stones and earth have eaten them.