1. هَفا بِفُؤادي مُوهِناً صَوت صادح

    يَنوح عَلى إِلف عَن البان نازح

    Late at night, a singer's voice set my heart aflutter,

    Lamenting a mate far removed from the bān trees.

  2. يُردد وَجداً نوحهُ وَحنينه

    وَأَصبَحَت مِن وَجدي كَسَكران طافح

    In longing, it repeats its lament and yearning,

    And my longing made me like a man utterly drunk.

  3. فَنى الدَم بَعدَ الدَمع مِما سَجمتهُ

    وَرَقَّ لِحالي كُلُ واشٍ وَكاشح

    Blood ran dry after tears, from all I had shed,

    And every tale-bearer and foe took pity on my plight.

  4. وَمِن شَقوَتي أَني بَليت بِغيرة

    لَها أَلَمٌ في القَلب لَيسَ بارح

    And part of my misery is that I am afflicted with jealousy,

    Whose pain within the heart never departs.

  5. يَطيب الرَدى لي حينَ يَلمَح ظل مِن

    مَحا ظَلَّ شَخصي حُبُهُ طَرف لامح

    Death is sweet to me when the shadow of the one

    Whose love effaced my form's shadow is glimpsed by a glancing eye.

  6. وَلَيسَ بِمَمنوع وَإِن مُتُ حَسرة

    عَن البَدو إِرسال العُيون الطَوامح

    Nor, though I die of grief, is it forbidden

    For the desert folk to cast longing glances.

  7. فَمِن لي بِقَلب غَير قَلبيَ يَشتري

    لِنَفسيَ أَوليت الحمام مَصابِحي

    So who will buy me a heart other than my own,

    For myself—or would that death were my morning visitor!

  8. هَنيئاً لِأَهل النار فيها نَعيمُهُم

    إِذا قيس ما فيها بِما في جَوانِحي

    May the people of the Fire enjoy their bliss there,

    When what it holds is compared with what lies within my ribs.