سرى النسيم بعرف من ربي الطلل

مؤرّجا من ربوع الحي والحلل

The breeze drifted by night with fragrance from the hills of the ruins,

Fragrant from the tribe's dwellings and encampments,

محملا نشر أشواق تفوح لنا

شذاء عطر شممناه على عجل

Laden with the scent of yearnings that waft toward us,

The fragrance of perfume we inhaled in haste.

أتى فخبر عن ذات الجعود وعن

أم الخدود وعن رنانة الحجل

It came with tidings of the curly-haired one, and of

The one with those cheeks, and her whose anklet rings.

جرى فذكرني يوم الوداع وما

عهدته باعتناق الحق والقبل

It swept along, reminding me of farewell day and what

I had known of embracing truth and kisses.

يا قلب صبرا وكن منه على أمل

من حيث قررت ان العيش بالأمل

O heart, be patient, and remain hopeful of him,

Since you have resolved that life is sustained by hope.

وذات حسن عرفناها وكم ذرفت

يوم الرحيل دميعات من المقل

And a beauty we knew—how often she shed

Little tears from her eyes on the day of departure.

نأيت عنها ودهري غير معتدل

وسوف من بعده يأتي بمعتدل

I went far from her while my fortune was unkind,

And afterward it will bring fairer fortune.

قامت تودعني يوم البعاد ضحى

تميس مثل اهتزاز الشارب الثمل

She rose to bid me farewell on separation's day, at midmorning,

Swaying as a drunken drinker sways.

ثم استمرّت وقالت وهي باكية

تاللَه عشت عن حبيك لم أمل

Then she went on and said, weeping:

"By God, all my life I have never turned from loving you."

وأشوق قلبي لذياك الحمى وإلى

أغصانه السالبات اللب بالميل

And how my heart longs for that sanctuary, and for

Its boughs, which steal the mind with their swaying!

للَه صبّ غدا بالوجد منفردا

مؤرق الطرف بياتا على العلل

To God belongs a lover, grown solitary in longing,

Sleepless-eyed through the night, beset with ailments.

وجاذبته رياح الفجر عرف أسى

ورنحت قدّه الأشجان بالوحل

And dawn's winds tugged at him with sorrow's scent,

And sorrows made his frame sway in the mire.

يا حادي الركب قف بالشط معتكفا

نحو الديار وعج عن أيمن الجبل

O caravan driver, halt by the bank and stay,

Facing the dwellings; turn aside from the mountain's right flank.

وانشد هنالك عن قلبي المشوق وسل

ناشدتك الله عن جيراننا الأول

And there inquire after my yearning heart, and ask—

I implore you by God—about our former neighbors.

واحبس قلوصك يا حادي وعج بحمى

وادي الجديدة ذات السح والهطل

And halt your young she-camel, driver, and turn aside to the sanctuary of

The valley of al-Jadida, with its downpours and pouring rain.

وسائل الريح هل مرّت بذي جدر

فوق الكناس ذوات الأربع الخضل

And ask the wind whether it passed by Dhu Judur,

Above the gazelle's lair, with its lush, well-watered quarters.

وقف بعوجاء وادي النهر واعش إلى

تلك الطلول ومل بالربع واشتمل

And halt at the bend of the river valley, and make your way toward

Those ruins; turn aside at the encampment and wrap yourself up.

عسى تصادف من اضحى به تلفي

ومن سباني بنبل الأعين النجل

Perhaps you will meet the one who brought about my ruin,

And him who captured me with the arrows of wide eyes.

فاشرح له حال صب ما يكابده

من لوعة البين والتشتيت والنكل

Then explain to him a lover's state, and what he suffers

From the anguish of separation, dispersal, and torment.

لولاه ما بات لي جفن أريق أسى

كلا ولا فاض لي دمع على طلل

But for him, no eyelid of mine would have stayed sleepless in sorrow,

No, nor would my tears have flowed over a ruined dwelling.

سقاك يا ربع أحبابي ومعهدهم

دمعي صباحا ودمع العارض الهطل

May you be watered, O home and familiar haunt of my loved ones,

By my morning tears and the tears of the pouring raincloud.

فما فؤادي سلا عن حفظ حبهم

وعهدهم ليس لي عنهم بمبتدل

For my heart has not ceased to cherish their love,

And my bond with them is not one I can exchange.

كيف السبيل إلى السلوان يا تلفي

هذا غرامي وفيه منتهى أجلي

How can I find a path to forgetting, O my undoing?

This is my passion, and in it lies the end of my days.

يا صاحبي إذا شاهدتماه غدا

فذكّراه بماضي عيشنا النفل

O my two companions, when you see him tomorrow,

Remind him of our bygone life of plenty,

وبلّغاه وقولا في حديثكما

الصبر غايته أحلى من العسل

And carry him this message, and say as you speak:

"The outcome of patience is sweeter than honey."