1. يشقُّ عليَّ أن تشقى بحبسِ

    وأنْ تبقى لرشٍّ أو لكنْسِ

    It pains me that you suffer imprisonment,

    and are kept for sprinkling or sweeping.

  2. تكبَّلُ بالحديد وكنتُ أخشى

    محاذَرَةً عليك من الدمقس

    You are shackled in iron, though I once feared,

    out of concern for you, even fine silk.

  3. وعزَّ عليَّ أن تبقى بدار

    وما يُلفى بها غيرُ الأخسِّ

    And it grieves me that you remain in a house

    where none but the vilest are found.

  4. أتَخْدِمُ كلَّ مبتذَل حقير

    إذا ما بيعَ لا يُشرى بفلس

    Do you serve every debased, contemptible man

    who, if offered for sale, would not fetch a fils?

  5. وكنتُ أغار إن رمقتك عينٌ

    تلوِّثُ عرض صاحبها برجس

    I used to feel jealous if an eye glanced at you

    that defiled its owner's honor with filth.

  6. تطوف بك الوجوه الغبر منهم

    كما طافت شياطين بإنسي

    Their dust-covered faces circle around you,

    as devils circled a human being.

  7. ولو مُكِّنْتُ مما أشتهيه

    خَدَمْتُك دون أصحابي بنفسي

    And if I could attain what I desire,

    I would serve you myself, without my companions.

  8. تقول سَلَوْتَني ونَقَضْتَ عهدي

    وخُنْتَ مودَّتي ونَسيتَ أُنسي

    You say, "You have forgotten me and broken your pledge to me,

    betrayed my affection and forgotten my companionship."

  9. معاذ الله أن أسلوك يوماً

    ويومي في غرامك فوق أمس

    God forbid that I should ever forget you,

    and my love for you today surpasses yesterday's.

  10. تُحدِّثُ عن هواك دموعُ عيني

    بألسنةٍ من العبرات خرس

    The tears of my eye speak of my love for you,

    with mute tongues made of tears.

  11. يجول عليك طول اللَّيل فكري

    وأُصبِح فيك محزوناً وأُمسي

    My mind roams around you all night long,

    and I am sorrowful over you morning and evening.

  12. وأذكرُ ما مضى من طيب عيش

    فآكل راحتي وأعضُّ خمسي

    And I recall the sweetness of the life gone by,

    so I gnaw my palm and bite my five fingers.

  13. فمن غزلٍ يروق لديك مني

    ومن نغم يَلَذُّ وشرب كأس

    with love verse of mine that delighted you,

    and sweet melodies, and drinking a cup.

  14. فآهاً ثم آهاً ثم آهاً

    على قمرٍ يدير شعاع شمس

    Alas, then alas, then alas,

    for a moon that passes round a sun's radiance!

  15. فما أغلى ليالينا وأحلى

    لقد بيعت لشِقْوَتِنا ببخس

    How precious our nights were, and how sweet!

    Indeed, they were sold for a pittance, to our misery.

  16. ليالي كانت اللَّذات فيها

    وأيَّام لنا أيّام عرس

    Nights in which pleasures were found,

    and days that were wedding days for us.

  17. مَضَتْ تلك السنون وفرّقتنا

    حوادث من خطوب الدهر بؤس

    Those years have passed, and we were parted

    by woeful events among the calamities of time.

  18. رماها من قضاء الله رامٍ

    فأنْفَذَ سَهْمَه من غير قوس

    An archer of God's decree shot at them,

    and drove his arrow through without a bow.

  19. ومن لي أن أزورك كلَّ يوم

    وأن أسعى على عيني ورأسي

    And who will grant me to visit you every day,

    and hasten to you on my eye and my head?

  20. عسى لطفٌ من الرحمن يأتي

    ويسعدني بسعدٍ بعد نحس

    May kindness come from the Most Merciful,

    and gladden me with good fortune after misfortune,

  21. كما سَعِدَ العراقُ به ولاذَت

    برأفته أفاضل كلّ جنس

    as Iraq prospered through him, and refuge was sought

    in his compassion by the noblest of every people.

  22. أرى ما يطمع الراجين فيه

    فأطمعُ في نجاتك بعد يأس

    I see what inspires those who look to him with hope,

    so I hope for your deliverance after despair.

  23. سأُفْرِغُ للثناء عليه فكري

    وإملاء القريض عليك طرسي

    I shall devote my thoughts to praising him,

    and my page to writing verse addressed to you.

  24. ومنه إليك قد حان التفاتٌ

    فأبشِرْ في إزالة كل نكس

    And now it is time for him to turn his attention to you,

    so rejoice in the removal of every setback.

  25. فبادر بالدعاء له وأخْلِص

    وأنْذِر نَتْفَ لحيةِ كلّ وكس

    So hasten to pray for him, and be sincere,

    and threaten to pluck the beard of every base fellow.