1. عليّ لها أن لا انام ولا أسلو

    وأن ليس يجدي في لوم ولا عذل

    For her, I am bound neither to sleep nor to forget,

    And neither reproach nor rebuke can avail with me.

  2. ومن لي لو خيطت جفوني على الكرى

    لعلي بها فيه ولو ساعة أخلو

    Would that my eyelids were sewn shut in slumber,

    Perhaps I could be alone with her there, even for an hour.

  3. تمنيت منها اليوم في النوم زورة

    وقد يتمنى البعض من فاته الكل

    Today I wished for a visit from her in sleep,

    And one denied the whole may well wish for a part.

  4. وما كنت لا والله من قبل أرتضي

    بما يرتضى من وصل خل له خل

    I had never—no, by God—been content before

    With what one accepts of closeness from a beloved who has a beloved.

  5. وللدهر حكم في زمان نعيبه

    نسميه جورا وهو في غيره عدل

    And Time has a decree we fault in one season,

    We call it injustice, though in another it is justice.

  6. بكيت ومثلي لا يلام على البكا

    على فقد أيام مضت مالها مثل

    I wept, and one like me is not blamed for weeping,

    Over the loss of days gone by that have no equal,

  7. وفقد حبيب جاوز الحد بعده

    فلا كتب تأتي إليَّ ولا رسل

    And the loss of a beloved whose distance exceeded all bounds,

    So neither letters nor messengers reach me.

  8. على مثل ليلى يقتل المرء نفسه

    وغير كثير في محبتها القتل

    For one like Layla, a man kills himself,

    And being slain is no great price for loving her.

  9. فوا أسفا ما كان اقصر دهرها

    وأسرع ما حالت وما فرق الشمل

    Alas, how brief her time was,

    And how swiftly she changed and the gathering was scattered!

  10. خليلي إني ذاكر عهد لة

    تولت بحمد لم يذم لها فعل

    My two friends, I recall a time of [unclear word],

    She departed with praise; no deed of hers was blamed.

  11. حبيب من الأحباب شطت به النوى

    وفي اليد حبل منه فانقطع الحبل

    A beloved among beloveds, carried far away by separation,

    And in my hand was a cord from him—then the cord snapped.

  12. فواعجبا للبين لا درّ درّه

    أما كان في الدنيا له غيرنا شغل

    How strange is separation—may its milk never flow!

    Had it no other business in this world besides us?

  13. أأحبابنا ما أوحش الأرض بعدكم

    علينا لقد ضاقت بأربابها السبل

    O our beloveds, how desolate the earth is after you

    To us! The paths have narrowed for their masters.

  14. نأيتم فاغليتم رخيص تجلدي

    وصبري وأرخصتم من الدمع ما يغلو

    You went far away, making my once-cheap fortitude dear,

    And my patience; you cheapened tears that once were dear.

  15. إلى الله أشكو فهو لو شاء جمعنا

    لعدنا إلى العهد الذي كان من قبل

    To God I complain, for if He willed our reunion,

    We would return to the bond that we had before.

  16. تغربت كي أنسى هواكم بغيركم

    وعند الفم الصادي سوى الماء لا يحلو

    I went far from home to forget my love for you through others,

    Yet to a thirsty mouth, nothing but water tastes sweet.

  17. أاسلو حبيبا نصب عيني خياله

    ومن أين لي من بعده كبد تسلو

    Can I forget a beloved whose image stands before my eyes?

    And where, after him, could I find a liver that can forget?

  18. ولي أسوة قبلي بمن مات في الهوى

    ومن مات لا عار عليه ولا ذل

    And I have an example in those who died of love before me,

    And whoever dies bears neither shame nor humiliation.

  19. مساكين أهل العشق حتى دماؤهم

    تطل فما فيها قصاص ولا قتل

    Poor are lovers—even their blood

    Goes unavenged, with neither retribution nor killing in return.

  20. تضيع كما ضاعت دماء هرقتها

    سيوف مليك لم يصب عندها دخل

    It is lost, as was the blood spilled by

    A king's swords, in which no flaw was found.