1. A flash of lightning in the dark skies shone,
Or in the pastures of Najd, I saw a lamp aglow.

2. Or was it Layla of Al-Aamiriyyah who shone
And turned the eve to morn with her bright glow?

3. O rider of the she-camel, you were saved from harm
Whether you left in sorrow or fell down below.

4. You took the road through Nu‘man Al-Arak, so head
To a valley over there which I used to know.

5. By the two signs east of Sharqi turn aside,
And O mother of meadows, your scents sweetly blow!

6. When you reach the bends of the pasture’s hems,
Recite there a heartfelt poem of woe.

7. Convey my greetings to its people and say:
“I left it behind me, your neighbor, in sorrow.”

8. O people of Najd, is there no mercy at all
For a captive of love who longs to break free?

9. Why not send to the longing one a pure breath
Of zephyr, his spirit thereby to bestow?

10. Bringing life to one who thought your estrangement
Was jest and believed all in playfulness to flow.

11. O you who blame the ardent lover in his ignorance,
Have you attained any success, have you e’er sown?

12. You’ve wearied yourself advising one who sees
No fortune’s arrival, no success to be shown.

13. Desist! You’ve been shortcoming while heavily wounding
One whose heart the blades of light already mow.

14. Before your advice you were a loyal friend of mine,
Did you ever see a young man good counsel take?

15. If you wish me to reform, I never desired
To correct my love-sick heart which was bent so.

16. What do critiques want with blaming those who don
Fine garb? Leave them be to roam free and go!

17. O people of my love, is there any hope
That I'll obtain your company and comfort know?

18. Since you left me I have sighs
That resound all over Egypt’s plateau.

19. When I think of you, I lean as though I've sipped
The soft blowing wind, thoughts of you its flow.

20. If called to forget the days we shared,
I find my soul shrinking from it, hard and slow.

21. They were days of joy with a neighbor whose nights
With them were spent in joys abundantly stowed.

22. My tribe, my homeland, my dwelling place
Where roaming was free and water flowing bestowed.

23. Its sands and palms were my dwelling and delight,
Ramlat Wadi, my ease, my comfort, my road.

24. Alas for that time and its goodness when I
Roamed freely without any woes to corrode!

25. I swear by Mecca, the Station, and those who came
As holy pilgrims circling 'round the grand abode.

26. No zephyr blew o'er the hillsides but sent
From you a refreshing of spirits that flowed.