أحوم على حسنكم ما أحوم

وأذكركم بطلوع النجوم

I hover around your beauty, ever hovering,

And I remember you as the stars rise.

وأصبو إليكم وأشتاقكم

كما اشتاق طيب الشفاء السقيم

And I yearn for you and long for you,

As the sick man longed for the sweetness of healing.

وما بيننا غير هذا الفناء

وهذا الجدار وهذى الحريم

And nothing lies between us but this courtyard,

And this wall, and these harem quarters,

وهذى الرياض وهذا الحياض

وهذا النخيل وهذى الكروم

And these gardens, and these pools,

And these palm trees, and these vineyards.

ونحن كمن فرت بينهم

ممالك في الحرب تحمى التخوم

And we are like those separated from one another by

Kingdoms at war, guarding their frontiers.

إذا شئت لقياك خنت الملي

ك وإن لم اشأ خنت قلبي الكليم

If I wish to meet you, I betray the king,

And if I do not, I betray my wounded heart.

ويا ليل طلت وطال الأسى

فما لك حد ولا للهموم

And O night, you have grown long, and sorrow has grown long;

For there is no end to you, nor to sorrows.

فماذا تريد بهذا السكون

وماذا تريد بهذا الوجوم

So what do you intend by this stillness?

And what do you intend by this brooding silence?

ويا ماء ما تبتغى بالخرير

ويا نجم بالخفق ماذا تروم

And O water, what do you seek with your murmuring?

And O star, what do you seek with your twinkling?

ويا زهر لا حسدتك القلوب

فشملك في العاشقين النظيم

And O blossoms, may hearts never envy you,

For yours, among lovers, is a well-knit union.

ويا طير يهنيك طيب الكرى

وطول العناق وفرط النعيم

And O birds, may you enjoy sweet slumber,

And long embraces and overflowing bliss.

سما بك غصن على كثرة

وضاق عن أثنين قصر عظيم

A branch raised you aloft, though you are many,

Yet a vast palace proved too small for two.