1. أَحبةَ قلبي طالَ ليليَ بعدكمْ

    أَسىً فمتى أَلقى بوجهكم الفَجْرا

    O beloveds of my heart, my night has lengthened since you left,

    In sorrow—when shall I greet dawn in your faces?

  2. سكنتمْ فؤادي وهو في نار شوقكمْ

    فهلاَّ أَخذتُمْ فيه من نارِه حِذْرا

    You have dwelt in my heart, while it burns in the fire of longing for you;

    Why, then, did you not guard yourselves there against its fire?

  3. فقدتُ حياتي مذْ فقدتُ لقاءَكم

    فهل بحياتي منكم نشأةٌ أُخرى

    I lost my life when I ceased to meet you;

    Will my life, then, have another birth through you?

  4. لقد عادَ أُنسي وحشةً بفراقكم

    كما عادَ عرفُ الدَّهرِ بعدكم نُكرا

    My solace has indeed turned to loneliness through parting from you,

    As time's kindness turned to harshness after you.

  5. وقد كنتُ مُغترّاً بأيامِ وصلكم

    ولا يأمن الأيَامَ من كانَ مغترّا

    I had been beguiled by the days of union with you,

    And none beguiled can feel safe from the days.

  6. أجيرانَ جيرونَ المجبرينَ جارهمْ

    من الجَوْرِ حوزوا في مشوقكم الأجرا

    O neighbors of Jayrun, who shelter their neighbor

    From injustice—earn reward by helping your longing lover.

  7. محبّتُكم قد خانَهُ الصّبْرُ فاطلبوا

    مسحباً سواء عنكمُ يحسنُ الصّبرا

    Your lover [reading uncertain] has been betrayed by patience; so seek

    Another lover [wording uncertain], who can patiently endure being apart from you.

  8. ومذ غبتُ عن مَقرْي مَقَريَّ قد نبا

    سقَآ ورعَى ربّي مَقريَّ في مقْرى

    Since I left Maqra, my resting place has grown unwelcoming;

    May my Lord water and guard my abode in Maqra.

  9. أَحنُّ إلى عذرا وعذريَ واضحٌ

    لأَنَّ الهوى العذريَّ منّي في عذرا

    I yearn for Adhra, and my excuse is clear:

    For my chaste, Udhri love is in Adhra.

  10. إذا القدرُ المحتومُ من جلِّقٍ بنا

    إلى مصر أَسرى فالقلوبُ بها أسرى

    When inevitable fate carried us from Jilliq

    By night to Egypt, our hearts were captives there.

  11. رحلنا فما باحتْ بأسرارنا سوَى

    عبارةُ عينٍ خوف يومِ النّوَى عَبْرَى

    We departed; nothing divulged our secrets except

    The language of an eye, tearful for fear of the day of parting.

  12. تركنا دمشقاً والجنانُ وراءَنا

    وقد أَمّنا بالكسوةِ الرفقة السّفرا

    We left Damascus, with gardens behind us,

    And at al-Kiswa the travelling company led us.

  13. وجئنا إلى المَرْجِ الذي طابَ نشرُهُ

    فلا زالَ من أَحبابنا طَيّباً نَشرا

    And we came to the meadow, whose fragrance was sweet;

    May it ever be sweet with the scent of our beloveds.

  14. رحلنا بمرجِ الصُّفرِ بالعيسِ غدوةً

    فسارتْ وحطّتْ في محجَّتها ظهرا

    At Marj al-Sufr we set out at dawn on pale camels;

    So they travelled and halted on their road at noon.

  15. وقد قطعتْ تُبْنى إلى الديِّرِ بعدها

    وما عرستْ حتى أناختْ على بُصرى

    And they had crossed Tubna, then continued to al-Dayr;

    And made no night halt until they knelt at Busra.

  16. نزلنا الدِّناحَ والجلاعبَ بعدها

    وبعدهما غدرَ البشاميَّةِ الغزرا

    We halted at al-Dinah, then at al-Jala'ib;

    And after both, at al-Bashamiyya's abundant pools,

  17. ورأسَ الجشا والقريتينِ وكلُّها

    مواردُ فيها السُّحبُ قد غادرتْ غدرا

    And Ras al-Jasha and al-Qaryatayn—all of them

    Watering places where clouds had left pools.

  18. وردنا من الزَّيتونِ حِسْمىَ وأَيلة

    وجزنا عُقاباً كان مسلكها وعرا

    From al-Zaytun we reached Hisma and Ayla,

    And crossed mountain passes whose way was rugged.

  19. إلى قلّةِ الرَّاعي إلى نابعٍ إلى

    جراولَ فالنخلِ الذي لم يزل قفرا

    To Qullat al-Ra'i, to Nabi', then to

    Jarawil, then al-Nakhl, which remained desolate;

  20. إلى منزلٍ في روضةِ الجملِ اغتدتْ

    به عيسنا في صدرِ شارحه صدرا

    To a halting-place in Rawdat al-Jamal, where at dawn

    Our pale camels were foremost at its passage's head [wording uncertain].

  21. ودونَ حَشَا لمّا حَثَثْنا ركابنا

    عيون لموسى لم يزل ماؤها مُرا

    And short of Hasha, when we urged our mounts on,

    Were Moses' springs, whose water was ever bitter.

  22. هناكَ تلقانا الوفودُ بِبرِّهم

    فسروا بنا نفساً وزادوا بنا بِشرا

    There the delegations met us with their kindness;

    So they rejoiced in spirit at us, and grew gladder because of us.

  23. قطعنا إلى بحرِ النّدى بحرَ قُلْزُم

    ومَنْ قصدُهُ بحرَ النَّدى يقطعُ البحرا

    We crossed the Sea of Qulzum to the sea of generosity;

    And whoever aims at the sea of generosity crosses the sea.

  24. عبرنا إلى من كاثر الرمل جوده

    وجزنا إليه ذلكَ الرَّملَ والجسرا

    We crossed to one whose bounty rivalled the sands in number,

    And we crossed that sand and the bridge to reach him.

  25. ولم يرونا ماء الثماد بعَجرَد

    ولم يقتنع بالقل من يأمل الكثرا

    And the water of Ajrad's shallow pools did not slake our thirst;

    And whoever hopes for much is not content with little.

  26. وجبنا البوَيْب والمصانع قبله

    إلى بركة الجب التي قربت مصرا

    And we traversed al-Buwayb and al-Masani' before it,

    To Birkat al-Jubb, which brought Egypt near;

  27. إلى عزمةٍ في المجدِ غيرِ قصيرةٍ

    وكان قُصارى أَمرنا أَنْ نرى القصرا

    Toward a resolve for glory that fell not short;

    And our undertaking's ultimate aim was to see the palace.

  28. ولما نزلنا مصرَ في شهر طوبة

    وردنا بكف العادل النيل في مسرى

    And when we arrived in Egypt in the month of Tuba,

    We drank, from al-Adil's hand, the Nile in Misra.

  29. غدا قاصراً عن قصرِه قصرُ قيصرٍ

    وإيوانُ ةكسرى عند إيوانهِ كسرا

    Caesar's palace fell short of his palace,

    And Khosrow's vaulted hall was a mere fragment beside his own.