وإني ليدعوني السلوّ فأنثني

أبِيّاً ويدعوني الهوى فأُجيبُ

Solitude calls me, so I bend,

Unwilling, and desire calls me, so I respond,

وأرتابُ اشفاقاً عليك ولم يكن

والشفيق مريبُ

And I hesitate out of compassion for you, though there was not

A lover in me, and the compassionate one makes missteps.

بنفسي حبيبٌ لا يملّ قطيعتي

على أنَّه ما كان فهو حبيبُ

For he who was is still my beloved,

Though the turns of time came between me and him,

أَتَت نُوَبُ الأيام بيني وبينَه

وحالت عوادٍ دونَهُ وخطوبُ

And circumstances prevented him and misfortunes,

And I still hope for him despite the distance of his abode,

وإني لأرجوه على بُعد داره

وإن بعيداً نِلتُهُ لَقَريبُ

For if I attain him from afar, he is near.