1. A flash of lightning shone from the clouds,
Drawing a curtain from the pillars of mist.

2. Was it the fires of Hejaz standards that appeared to us?
Or did I see in the expanse of Najd a lamp?

3. Or was it Layla al-Aamiriyyah who unveiled
Her face, spreading beauty and smiling?

4. Or were those the lights of al-Udayb shining
At night, making the evening seem like morning?

5. O rider of the she-camel, woe to you,
Stop at Mahasib and mourn for the departed.

6. Ask - may I ransom you - about Fu'ad of Mutaym,
Whether you come in sorrow or sprawled on the ground.

7. Take the route of Nu'man al-Arak, head towards
Those tents - you will find there joy.

8. And turn towards the mounds of 'Uqayq, for it is
A valley I made a tryst with long ago.

9. On the right side of the two flags from its east,
How many a pledge my heart yearns for there!

10. You will reach your maturity should you set out for Tuwayli'
Detour and head for Uraynah abounding in game.

11. And when you arrive at the slopes of Luwa
And head for the tribe of Mazin relaxed,

12. Remember my covenant if you come to Hima
And chant to a heart at Abaytah fallen.

13. Convey greetings from me, and say
To them: "Did you insist on being aloof?"

14. You are noble, while he is passionate
And left you to your seclusion writhing.

15. O people of Najd, is there no mercy
That my patience upon you and composure left?

16. What harm if you allow a glance
To one who traveled a thousand miles unrelieved?

17. Why not send a greeting to the longing one
Carried to him by the breeze in the morning?

18. For he is the one whose soul has folded to you
In the folds of the winds blowing gently.

19. Through it he brings to life one who thought your estrangement
Wasted bodies and abandoned souls.

20. And deemed your avoidance of him in pleasure
Mere joking, and believed jesting to be jesting.

21. O reproacher of the longing one in ignorance of one
Other than you - leave me and desist in importunity!

22. For I am one who, if examined in passion,
Is found infatuated, not having attained success.

23. You have burdened yourself advising one who sees
Abandoning love to be a sin, not permitted.

24. You did not know that it is the way of every Mutaym
To not see attainment and success.

25. Restrain your censure and discard what you have heaped
Upon a heart filled with doe-eyed gazelles.

26. If he wishes to look again at his wound in
His bowels, the eyelids injure all the more.

27. I was a friend before your advice, enamored,
And now your heart has brimmed with enmity.

28. Rise, O you of blame, adviser -
Have you seen a youth befriend advice?

29. If you wanted my reform, I never desired
What you cast at me in blame to fight.

30. I sought before you in time but did not find
A reform for my corrupt heart in love.

31. What do the reproachers want with reproaching one
Who cannot attain success or attain it?

32. I have grown accustomed to passion and fervor, and in life
I donned recklessness and found comfort and left.

33. O people of my affection, can a hopeful of your union
Attain it? For with you I made a covenant.

34. When longing pulls him insistently toward you
He aspires, delighting in visiting you.

35. Since you left from my sight, I have had distress
From its intensity, my patience weakened and left.

36. And whenever my eye intends weeping
It fills the regions of Egypt with laments.

37. And when I remember you, I sway as if I were
A branch facing the winds in the gardens.

38. Or a drunk with a slim waist, for from your sweet memory
I have imbibed intoxication and comfort.

39. And when invited to forget your covenant
I cannot, and I twist writhing.

40. When I sought patience from you in passion
I found my bowels stingy with that.

41. My companions are the days gone by with a neighbor
Who was not unsociable, for with them I found success.

42. We did not know separation had departed, for our nights with them
Were joys.

43. Alas for that time and its goodness -
We craved spending time together and passed the cups.

44. When joy afflicted us again and again -
Days when I found solace in seclusion.

45. Where Hima is my homeland, and the people of affection
Were my neighbors about whom I left in comfort.

46. Where Atayq is my dwellings, and its sands
My abode, and its roses permitted to me.

47. Its twisted fibers are shelves for me, and the shade of its palms
Is my resort morning and evening.

48. By its lightning and rain, and in its breeze
Is my delight, and its valley sands a comfort,

49. I swear by Mecca and the Station, and those who came
To those holy places among the throngs of pilgrims.

50. Who hastened between Safa and Marwah,
Came seeking the Sacred House, exclaiming Labbayk.

51. No eastern wind blew from the expanse
Except my heartlonged for the Hejaz.

52. Or did I sense a lightning bolt for one slain by love
Except I found from you solace.