1. قَبَّلَ الأرض وناجاها هُياما

    كشريدٍ عاد من منفى فَهاما

    He kissed the earth and whispered to her in ardent love,

    like a wanderer who returned from exile, then fell in love.

  2. هام بالأم التي قد عقَّها

    في ضلالٍ وغرورٍ وتعامى

    He was enamored of the mother whom he had wronged

    in error and arrogance, willfully blind.

  3. وبكى مثل يتيم ضائع

    لم يزل يذكر بؤسا وسقاما

    And he wept like a lost orphan,

    never ceasing to recall misery and sickness.

  4. ضل في الأوهام قبلا خاسرا

    فتهاوى حين ظنَّوه تسامى

    He had strayed amid illusions before, to his cost,

    so he fell when they thought he had soared.

  5. قال يا أمي كفاني أنني

    لك أحيا ثم أفنى مُستهاما

    He said: “O my mother, it is enough for me that I

    live for you, then perish, consumed by love.

  6. أي روح غير روح منك لي

    أو وجود غير معنى فيك داما

    What soul have I but a soul from you,

    or existence but a meaning that endures in you?

  7. كل ما في الكون لا يشغلني

    ولئن كان شباكا تترامى

    Nothing in the universe engrosses me,

    even if it be nets stretching far and wide.

  8. عالم المجهولِ لم أغنمِ به

    غيرَ أحلام أضَّلتني دواما

    From the world of the unknown I gained nothing

    but dreams that led me constantly astray,

  9. حينما عندك آيات كفت

    نشوة العقل فتونا وُمداما

    while you hold signs enough

    for the mind's rapture—enchantment and wine.

  10. أنتِ بنت الشمس فهي جدَّةٌ

    وكذا كنا شعاعا وضراما

    You are the sun's daughter, so she is a grandmother,

    and thus we were radiance and flame.

  11. ان عبدنا النور لم نأثم فما

    كان غير الله نورا وسلاما

    If we have worshipped light, we have not sinned, for none

    but God has been light and peace.

  12. أو رجعت اليوم عبدا صاغرا

    أتلقَّى عنك علما واحتكاما

    Or I have returned today as a lowly slave,

    receiving knowledge and judgment from you.

  13. فالأماني كلها في فسحة

    لك أن ضاقت فما ضاقت نظاما

    For all hopes lie in an expanse

    of yours; if it narrows, it does not narrow in its order.

  14. جَنَّتيِ أنت فان ضيعتها

    حَّق أن أغدو في الذل حُطاما

    You are my paradise; if I squander it,

    I deserve to become wreckage in humiliation.

  15. واذا راعيتها في يقظة

    لم تنم أصبحتُ للخلد لزاما

    And if I tend it with a vigilance

    that never sleeps, I become bound to immortality.”

  16. فاحتفت بي الأرض ثم ابتسمت

    عن ربيع فاض بشرا وغراما

    So the earth welcomed me, then smiled,

    revealing a spring overflowing with gladness and ardent love.