1. آه لوقت سبقا

    اكسب جفني الارقا

    Ah, for a time gone by,

    that brought sleeplessness to my eyelid.

  2. ذكرني تذكاره

    مسك وصال عبقا

    Its remembrance recalled to me

    the fragrant musk of union.

  3. ورب ركب طائر

    من حاجر الى النقا

    And many a flying caravan,

    from Hajir to al-Naqa,

  4. سرى وغلغال الدجا

    بعد طموس اشرقا

    traveled by night, and the depths of darkness

    shone forth after obscurity.

  5. يريد ريما بين ها

    تيك الرياض انطلقا

    It sought a gazelle that, amid

    those gardens, had darted away.

  6. اعجب من قوامه

    امال غصنا مورقا

    I marvel at his figure:

    it made a leafy bough bend.

  7. وثغره البسام بالدر

    ر النقي ابرقا

    And his smiling mouth, with pearls

    so pure, flashed brightly.

  8. هو الذي هيمني

    وزاد قلبي قلقا

    He is the one who drove me mad with love

    and made my heart more restless.

  9. فارقته والهفي

    له وعز الملتقى

    I parted from him—oh, my yearning

    for him! And reunion grew elusive.

  10. عسى الذي قدر ذا

    يجمع شملا فرقا

    May He who decreed this

    reunite a scattered company.

  11. يا قلب صبرا فالفنا

    لنا ولله البقا

    O heart, be patient, for passing away

    is ours, and eternity belongs to God.