1. هاكَ عَهدي فَلا أَخونُكَ عَهداً

    يا مَليحاً لَدَيهِ أَمَسيَتُ عَبدا

    Take my pledge: I shall not break faith with you,

    O lovely one, whose slave I have become.

  2. لا وَحَقِّ الهَوى سَلوَتُكَ يَوماً

    وَكَفى بِالهَوى ذِماماً وَعَقدا

    No, by love's sanctity, I have never ceased loving you, even for a day;

    and love is pledge and covenant enough.

  3. إِنَّ قَلبي يَضيقُ أَن يَسَعَ الصَب

    رَ لِأَنّي فَنَيتُ عَظماً وَجِلدا

    Indeed, my heart is too narrow to hold patience,

    for I have wasted away, bone and skin.

  4. وَفُؤادي لا يَعتَريهِ هَوى الغَي

    رِ لِأَنّي مَلَأتُهُ بِكَ وَجدا

    And my heart is untouched by love for another,

    for I have filled it with yearning for you.

  5. يا مَهاةَ الصَريمِ عَيناً وَجيداً

    وَأَخا الوَردِ في الطَروَةِ خَدّا

    O oryx of the thicket in eyes and neck,

    and brother to the rose in freshness of cheek,

  6. وَشَقيقَ الخَنساءِ في الناسِ قَلباً

    وَقَضيبَ الأَراكِ ليناً وَقَدّا

    and, in heart, al-Khansa's brother among men,

    and an arak bough in suppleness and stature,

  7. كَيفَما كُتتَ لَيسَ لي عَنكَ بُدٌّ

    فَأَبِعني وُدّاً وَإِن شِئتَ صَدّا

    however you may be, I cannot do without you.

    So sell me affection—or, if you wish, rejection.

  8. وَمَلَكتَ الفُؤادَ مِنِّيَ كُلا

    فَاِتلِفَن ما أَورَدتُ هَزلاً وَجِدا

    And you have taken possession of my whole heart;

    so destroy what I have brought, in jest and in earnest.

  9. يا لَيالي الوَصلِ كَم لَك عِندي

    خَلَواتٌ مَعَ الغَزالِ المُفَدّى

    O nights of union, how many have I known in you—

    private trysts with the gazelle I would ransom!

  10. كَم جَنَينا ثِمارَكَ وَهيَ عِندي

    مِن يَدٍ كانَ شُكرُها لا يُؤَدّى

    How often we plucked your fruits, which to me were

    from a hand whose due thanks could never be rendered.

  11. فَسَقَتكَ الدُموعَ مِن وابِلِ الغَي

    ثِ مَديدَ البِحارِ جَزراً وَمَدّا

    So may tears water you with a downpour of rain,

    vast as the seas in ebb and flood.

  12. وبكَتْكِ دماً عُيوني من دمْ

    عي بديلاً فهُنّ أغزرُ وِرْدا

    And may my eyes weep blood for you instead of

    my tears, for they yield a more abundant flow.

  13. هل لِماضيكَ عَودةٌ فلقد آ

    نَ جَمالُ الحبيبِ أَن يَتَبدّى

    Will your past return? For the time has surely come

    for the beloved's beauty to appear.