وإِذا النميمَةُ للرياحِ جَرَتْ

وإِذا النميمَةُ للرياحِ جَرَتْ

ما بينهنَّ لموعدٍ حربا

ما بينهنَّ لموعدٍ حربا

And when gossip spread to the winds,

When gossip carried by the winds

between them, as war at a rendezvous,

Spreads between them like calls to war,

جذَّتْ أُصول فروعها وتواصلتْ

جذَّتْ أُصول فروعها وتواصلتْ

أَغصانها لنسيمها حبَّا

أَغصانها لنسيمها حبَّا

it severed the roots of her branches, and intertwined

It tears up roots and stretches branches,

were her boughs, out of love for her breeze.

Its tendrils loving the soft breeze.

وبدا وصالُهما لأَنهما

وبدا وصالُهما لأَنهما

لا يملكان لفُرْقَةٍ قلبا

لا يملكان لفُرْقَةٍ قلبا

And their union became clear, for the two

And so their joining seems but natural—

have no heart for separation.

For neither can abide division.

فكأَنَّما عشق الفراقُ دنوَّهُ

فكأَنَّما عشق الفراقُ دنوَّهُ

لبعادِهِ من قربها قربا

لبعادِهِ من قربها قربا

So it was as though separation loved his nearness,

It's as though distance magnified love,

for his distance from her nearness was closeness.

Drawing nearer through being far.