تَوَقَّ خِلافاً إنْ سمحْتَ بمَوعدٍ

تَوَقَّ خِلافاً إنْ سمحْتَ بمَوعدٍ

لِتسلَمَ مِن هَجْوِ الورى وتُعافى

لِتسلَمَ مِن هَجْوِ الورى وتُعافى

Beware of breaking your word if you make a promise,

If you would grant a rendezvous in variance

so you may escape people's mockery and be spared.

To be delivered from blame of the land and recover

فو أثَمرَ الصَّفصافُ من بعدِ نَورِهِ

فو أثَمرَ الصَّفصافُ من بعدِ نَورِهِ

وإيراقِهِ مالقَّبوهُ خِلافا

وإيراقِهِ مالقَّبوهُ خِلافا

For had the willow borne fruit after its blossoming

So yielded the willow beyond its light

and leafing, they would not have called it 'khilāf' ('promise-breaking').

And pouring what it was labeled in variance