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The wild geese are flying about ;
Su-su goes the rustle of their wings .
[There were] those officers engaged on the commission .
Pained were we and toiled in the open fields ;
All were objects of pity ,
But alas for those wifeless and widows !

The wild geese are flying about ;
And they settle in the midst of the marsh .
[There were] those officers directing the rearing of the walls ;—
Five thousand cubits of them arose at once .
Though there was pain and toil ,
In the end we had rest in our dwellings .

The wild geese are flying about ,
And melancholy is their cry of ao-ao .
There were they , wise men ,
Who recognized our pain and toil ;
If they had been stupid men ,
They would have said we were proclaiming our insolence .