1. عذري اليك غرام لا اكيفه

    وسر وجدي بقلبي انت تعرفه

    My excuse to you is a passion I cannot define.

    And the secret of the longing in my heart—you know it.

  2. يا ريم حاجر ما هذا الجفاء اما

    تولي محبك احسانا وتنصفه

    O gazelle of Hajir, what is this estrangement? Will you not

    Bestow kindness upon your lover and treat him fairly?

  3. عطفا عليه زكاة انت تجعلها

    عن لطف غصن شبق دمت تعطفه

    Have compassion on him—alms that you offer

    For the grace of a lustful bough you keep bending.

  4. قد لاح بارق ذاك الثغر منك له

    غدا يحاول منه العقل يخطفه

    The lightning of that mouth of yours has flashed for him;

    It has begun trying to snatch reason from him.

  5. فيامليك جمال في جلالته

    قد مد في اعين الشعقا رفرفه

    So, O sovereign of beauty, who in his majesty

    Has spread his canopy within the lovers' eyes;

  6. ويا منكر هجر قد مضى زمن

    فيه الوصال لمضناه يعرفه

    And O you whose estrangement is grievous, a time has passed

    When union was known to his lovesick lover.

  7. قطعت ظلما حبال القرب عن دنف

    يهواك هل لا بماضي العهد تتحفه

    You unjustly severed the cords of closeness from a lovesick man

    Who loves you—will you not favor him with the former pledge?

  8. قالوا بحبك قد اسرفت في ولهي

    والحب اشرفه يا ريم اسرفه

    They said I had gone too far in my ardent love for you;

    And the noblest love, O gazelle, is the most extravagant.

  9. هب النسيم فاهداني عبيقك يا

    حياة يعقوب حزن انت يوسفه

    The breeze blew and brought me your fragrance, O

    Life of a sorrowing Yaqub—you are his Yusuf.

  10. ظلمت يا عادل الخصر اتئد فلقد

    اطغاك خصر لوى قلبي مهففه

    You have wronged me, O you of a well-proportioned waist; be gentle, for

    A waist has made you tyrannical; its slender form has twisted my heart.

  11. هل حرف القول حسادي وملت لهم

    وحاسد القول بهتانا يحرفه

    Have my enviers twisted what was said, and have you sided with them?

    And an envious man slanderously distorts what is said.

  12. وهل هممت على همي غدرت اذا

    وكل هم فان الله يصرفه

    And have you set your mind on my sorrow? Then you have betrayed me;

    And every sorrow—God indeed dispels it.

  13. ولطف ثغرك والراح الذي بشذا ال

    مسك الالهي نال المزج قرقفه

    And by the grace of your mouth, and the wine that, with the scent of

    Divine musk, has had its potent draught blended;

  14. وسحر طرفك والعضب الغميدبه

    لكل قلب متى ما شاء يطرفه

    And by the magic of your gaze, and the keen sword sheathed within it,

    Which strikes every heart whenever it wishes—

  15. يمر بي الرهط من قومي يقال له

    من ذا يقول لسقمي لست اعرفه

    A band of my people passes me, and is asked,

    ‘Who is this?’ Because of my sickness, they say, ‘I do not know him.’

  16. جفوت يا من قسا قلبا بلا سبب

    وخنت يا ريم مضنى كنت تألفه

    You have shunned me, O you whose heart grew hard without cause,

    And betrayed, O gazelle, a lovesick man you once held dear.

  17. زوابع الهجر ان تجرى على جبل

    لا شك من لب قعر الارض تنسفه

    If the whirlwinds of estrangement sweep across a mountain,

    They will surely blast it out from the heart of the earth's depths.

  18. رفقا بقلب لظى الهجران قلّبه

    ظهرا وبطنا واضناني تلهفه

    Be gentle with a heart the blaze of separation has tossed

    Onto its back and belly; its yearning has worn me out.

  19. وارحم فللحب أحوال وتعرفها

    والحب احلاه احناه والطفه

    And have mercy, for love has states, and you know them.

    And the sweetest love is the tenderest and gentlest.

  20. اما وعينيك مالي في الورى امل

    الا اغتنامي وعدا رحت تخلفه

    Indeed, by your eyes, I have no hope among humankind

    Except to secure a promise you keep breaking.

  21. أأنت لم ترني والعين باكية

    والدمع خيفة عذالي اكفكفه

    Have you yourself not seen me, my eye weeping,

    While I hold back my tears for fear of my reproachers?

  22. خف الاله فقد افرطت مرتكبا

    وزرا عظيما باسعافي تخففه

    Fear God, for you have gone too far, committing

    A grievous sin that you can lighten by coming to my aid.

  23. الليل يشهد لي اني اثلثه

    انا وبالحن مولوعا انصفة

    The night bears witness for me that I divide it into thirds;

    I, absorbed in yearning, divide it in half.

  24. لا تجعل البغي درعا انت تلبسه

    فكم سنان هبوب الريح يقصفه

    Do not make injustice a coat of armor you wear;

    For many a spearpoint is snapped by the blowing wind.

  25. يا قلب صبرا فان الله ذو كرم

    في كل حادثة يجري تصرفه

    O heart, be patient, for God is generous;

    In every event His governance takes its course.