1. ناء بِمصر وَبِالشَآم حَبيبُهُ

    دَنفٌ وَلَكن أَينَ مِنهُ طَبيبُهُ

    He is far away in Egypt, and his beloved is in Syria;

    lovesick—but where is his physician?

  2. قَد بانَ عَن أَحبابِهِ فَهَل أَشتَفي

    وَهَل اِستَراحَ حَسودَهُ وَرَقيبُهُ

    He has parted from his loved ones—shall I find relief?

    And have his envier and his watcher found rest?

  3. رقت لَهُ أَوصابُهُ وَنحُولَهُ

    وَبَكى عَلَيهِ بُكاؤُهُ وَنَحيبُهُ

    His ailments and his wasting took pity on him,

    and his weeping and his sobbing wept over him.

  4. قَلق الفُؤاد وَصَبهُ وَطروبَهُ

    وَمشوقَهُ وَسَليبهُ وَلَسيبهُ

    Restless of heart, ailing and enraptured,

    yearning, ravished, and stung.

  5. أَفنى تَجلدهُ النَوى وَشَبابَهُ

    وَأَعارَهُ كَمداً يَبيت يُذيبُهُ

    Separation consumed his fortitude and his youth,

    and lent him sorrow that melts him through the night.

  6. يا مانِعي الشَكوى وَقَد أَبلى الضَنا

    جسمي وَأَفنى مُهجَتي تَعذيبَهُ

    O you who forbid me to lament, though wasting sickness has worn away

    my body, and its torment has consumed my life's blood!

  7. يا يوسف الحَسَن الَّذي قَد شاقَ يَعقوب

    الأَسى فاشتاقَهُ يَعقوبُهُ

    O Joseph of beauty, who has stirred longing in Jacob

    of sorrow—so his Jacob yearned for him.

  8. عَذبت أَيوب الصَبابَة وَالبَلا

    أَفلا يَضيق بِضَرِهِ أَيوبهُ

    You have tormented the Job of longing and affliction;

    will his Job not chafe at his suffering?

  9. يا مَن لَهُ كُل الجَمال أَنيقُهُ

    وَبَديعُهُ وَشَريفُهُ وَغَريبُهُ

    O you to whom all beauty belongs—its elegance,

    its wonders, its nobility, and its rarities.

  10. لي في النَسيب رَقيقهُ وَرَشيقُهُ

    وَمَنيعُهُ وَلَطيفُهُ وَعَجيبُهُ

    Mine in love poetry are its tenderness and grace,

    its loftiness, its subtlety, and its marvels.

  11. وَليَ الغَرام زَفيرهُ وَحَنينُهُ

    وَفُنونَهُ وَجُنونَهُ وَكُروبهُ

    And mine is passion—its deep sighs and yearning,

    its many forms, its madness, and its anguish.

  12. كَبدٌ تَسيل مِن الجُفون وَمَدمَع

    أَبَداً تَصوب شُؤُونَهُ وَغُروبَهُ

    A liver flowing from the eyelids, and a tearful eye

    whose ducts and streams pour down forever.

  13. أَنا صاحب القَلب المَعَذب في الهَوى

    أَبَداً يَزيد وَجيبهُ وَندوبَهُ

    I am the one whose heart is tormented by love;

    its pounding and its scars grow ever greater.

  14. وَسِهام طَرفك لا يَبلُّ رَميّها

    وَغَليل وَجدي لا يَبلّ لَهيبُهُ

    And the arrows of your glance—their victim never heals;

    and my passion's burning thirst—its flame is never quenched.

  15. وَمَدام ريقك لا يَفيق نَزيفُهُ

    وَقَريح جفني لا يملّ سكوبَهُ

    And the wine of your saliva—its drinker never sobers;

    and my wounded eyelid never tires of shedding tears.

  16. وَبِسحر جفنك قَد تملكت الوَرى

    وَحكمت فيهُم فَالقُلوب قُلوبَهُ

    And by your eyelid's magic you have mastered mankind,

    and ruled them—so all hearts are his.

  17. لَم يحص مِن قَتَلت لحاظك حاسب

    فَصَريع حُبك لَم تَعد ذُنوبَهُ

    No reckoner has counted those your glances have slain;

    so the sins of one slain by your love go unreckoned.

  18. فَإِرحَم بِعَيشك مَن صَفا لَك وَدَهُ

    دونَ الأَنام وَقَلَّ مِنكَ نَصيبُهُ

    So have mercy, by your life, on one whose love for you is pure,

    yours alone among mankind, though his share of you is small:

  19. صَب يَذوب عَلَيكَ مِنهُ غَيرة

    فَمُرور أَنفاس النَسيم يريبهُ

    a lovesick man whose jealousy over you melts him away,

    so the passing breaths of the breeze arouse his suspicion.