شوقي إليك على نواك أهامني

والذكر أقعدني لكم وأقامني

My longing for you, despite your distance, has driven me mad.

And remembrance of you has made me sit and rise.

حتى أرق قلوب حساد الضنى

وبكى فأعذرني بكم من لامني

Until it softened the hearts of those who envied my wasting sickness,

and whoever blamed me wept, then excused me for loving you.

فغدوت أحل من حروف كتابتي

ودعا علي برحمة من شامني

So I became [thinner?] than the letters of my writing,

and whoever beheld me prayed for mercy upon me.

أنا سامني سوم العذاب لك الجوى

من ذا يعنفني إذا ما سامني

As for me, heartache for you has subjected me to torment.

Who would rebuke me when it torments me?

وإذا رأيتك أو سمعت بكم فما

زمني ولا أحد عليك أضامني

And when I see you or hear of you, neither

my fate nor anyone can wrong me on your account.

يا خاطراً خطر الوداع لمهجتي

لكم ومهما دام بي ما دامني

O Khatir, the thought of farewell has come to my heart

to you; however long it lasts within me, it has not [unclear].

ولقد شرقت بمدمعي لفراقكم

والحب أفطرني بكم وأضامني

And indeed I choked on my tears at parting from you,

and love for you made me break my fast and oppressed me.

قالوا نراك غدوت أحدب شايباً

قلت الفارق لمن أحب أشابني

They said, 'We see you have become hunchbacked and gray-haired.'

I said, '[Parting] from those I love has turned me gray.'

قالوا سواك هواك قبلك صابهم

هيهات فوق مصاب ذاك أصابني

They said, 'Your passion struck others before you.'

Far from it! What struck me surpasses that one's affliction.

أنا شمعة العشتاق في نار الهوى

وأرى الهوى فوق اللهيب أذابني

I am the lovers' candle in the fire of passion,

and I see that passion has melted me more than flame.

لما دعا داعي الهوى فأجبته

ودعوته في إثره فأجابني

When the caller of passion called, I answered him,

and I called to him in his wake, and he answered me.

حتى ولو أني غدوت حبايلاً

من الذي دعر عما أنهابني

Even if I were to become snares,

who is it who [grew depraved?] from what [unclear]?

ما رابني إلا عذول لم يذق

تعذيله ما ذقت منه أراني

Nothing troubled me but a reproacher who had not tasted [it];

his reproach showed me what I had tasted of it.

يا حبذا طيفاً لليلى بعد ما

هدت العيون بمضجعي قد زارني

How welcome was a vision of Layla, after

eyes had grown still—it visited me where I lay.

لما أطار النوم من عيني بها

فلها وإن شحط بالمزار أطارني

When, through her, it drove sleep from my eyes,

then it sent me flying to her, though her visiting-place lay far away.

وأزارني عن موطني لوصالها

لولا هواها بالخيال أزارني

And it would have taken me away from my homeland to join her,

had love for her not brought me to her in imagination.

يا فوز حظي إن بدت ليلى لنا

ليلاً ومنها النور ثم أنارني

How fortunate I am if Layla appears to us

at night! Light comes from her, and then illumines me.

ووقفت بالركن اليماني مس

تجيراً راجياً مما أخاف أحارني

And I stood at the Yemeni Corner, seeking

refuge, hoping for relief from what I fear, which has bewildered me.

اللَه أسألك القبول لدعوتي

فتحط ديناً ثقله قد آدني

God, I ask You to accept my prayer,

so remit a debt whose weight has burdened me.

وتحط ذنب أخي عبيدك خاطر

لرضاك إن ترضى رضاه فأدنى

And forgive the sin of my brother Khatir, Your humble servant,

for Your pleasure; if You approve his contentment, then [he is] nearer.

إن الأخ الصافي إذا صافيته

لجميع أعمال الصلاح أفادني

Indeed, a sincere brother, when I am sincere with him,

has benefited me in every righteous deed.

لك خاطر ومبارك يا خنجر

ودّاً على ودي صفاكم زادني

For you—Khatir, Mubarak, and Khanjar—

your sincerity has added affection to my affection.

مني السلام عليكم وعليكم

مني الثنا فيه النشيد أمادني

From me, peace be upon you; and upon you,

from me comes praise; in it, the song has made me sway.