1. أقولُ لنِضوي وهو من شجنٍ خِلْوُ

    حنانيكَ قد أدميتَ كلمْيَ يا نِضْوُ

    I say to my worn-out mount, while it is free of sorrow:

    Have mercy—you have made my wound bleed, O worn-out mount.

  2. تعاليْ أقاسمكِ الهمومَ فتعلمي

    بأنّكِ مما تشتكي كَبِدي خلوُ

    Come, let me share the sorrows with you, so you may know

    that you are free of what my liver suffers.

  3. تُريدينَ مرعى الريفِ والبدوَ أبتغي

    وما يستوي الريفُ العراقيُّ والبدوُ

    You seek the countryside's pasture, while I seek the desert;

    And the Iraqi countryside and the desert are not alike.

  4. هُناكَ نسيمُ الريحِ مثليَ لاغِبٌ

    ومثليَ ماءُ المُزنِ موردُهُ صَفْوُ

    There, the wind's breeze is weary, like me;

    And, like me, the rainclouds' water is pure at its source.

  5. ومحجوبةٍ لو هبَّتِ الريحُ أرقلت

    إليها الغيارى بالعوالي ولم يلْوُوا

    And many a secluded woman—if the wind blew, they would hurry

    to her, the jealous guardians with tall spears, never turning aside.

  6. صبوتُ إليها وهي ممنوعةُ الحِمَى

    فحتّامَ أصبو نحو مَنْ مالُه نجوُ

    I yearned for her, though her sanctuary was guarded;

    So how long shall I yearn toward one whose wealth is a secret?

  7. هوىً ليس يُسلي القربُ عنه ولا النَّوى

    وشجوٌ قديمٌ ليس يُشبِهُهُ شجوُ

    A love that neither nearness nor separation can make me forget;

    And a long-standing sorrow unlike any other sorrow.

  8. فأسْرٌ ولا فَكٌّ وَوَجْدٌ ولا أسىً

    وسُقْمٌ ولا بُرْءٌ وسكرٌ ولا صَحْوُ

    Thus, captivity without release, and longing without solace;

    And sickness without recovery, and drunkenness without sobriety.

  9. عناءٌ مُعَنٍّ وهو عنديَ راحةٌ

    وسُمٌّ ذُعافٌ طعمُه في فمي حُلوُ

    Tormenting suffering, yet to me it is rest;

    And deadly poison whose taste is sweet in my mouth.

  10. ولولا الهَوى ما شاقني لمعُ بارقٍ

    ولا هدَّني شجوٌ ولا هزَّني شَدوُ

    And were it not for love, no flash of lightning would make me yearn,

    Nor would sorrow crush me, nor song stir me.