1. ما لقَلبي يصْبو ودمعي يَصوبُ

    عندَما بانَ منزِلٌ وحَبيبُ

    Why does my heart yearn, while my tears pour down,

    when a dwelling and a beloved have grown distant?

  2. تركَ الوجدُ في فُؤادي بَقايا

    عنْدَ ذكراكَ في الدّموعِ تَذوبُ

    Passion has left remnants in my heart

    that melt in tears at the thought of you.

  3. ليتَ شعري متى يعودُ زمانٌ

    قد تقضَّى بوصلنا ويؤوبُ

    Would that I knew when the time would return

    that passed in our union, and come back again.

  4. أين ليلٌ نعمتُ فيه بِلَيلى

    وعلينا من النجوم رقيبُ

    Where is the night when I knew bliss with Layla,

    with a watcher among the stars above us,

  5. وسط روضٍ حكى الشمائلَ منها

    إنْ هَفَتْ شمْألٌ وهبّتْ جَنوبُ

    amid a garden that mirrored her graces,

    when a north wind stirred and a south wind blew?

  6. فهْيَ تحْكيهِ إذ يَروقُ جَمالاً

    زهْرُهُ أو يَميلُ منهُ قَضيبُ

    For she mirrors it when it charms with the beauty

    of its blossoms, or when a bough of it sways.

  7. إذ لَها بهجَةٌ وحُسْنٌ عجيبٌ

    وجمالٌ بادٍ وعَرْفٌ وطيبُ

    For she has splendor and wondrous beauty,

    and manifest loveliness, fragrance, and perfume,

  8. منطِقٌ ليّنٌ وعينٌ كحيلٌ

    وقَوامٌ لدْنٌ وثغْرٌ شَنِيبُ

    gentle speech, and a kohl-dark eye,

    and a supple figure, and a mouth with cool, white teeth.

  9. وعَذولٍ جَفا وللقَلبِ وجْدٌ

    جمْرُهُ في جَوانِحي مَشْبوبُ

    And a reproacher was harsh, while longing filled my heart,

    its embers kindled within my ribs.

  10. قال لي أيَّ مطْلَبٍ تبْتَغيهِ

    قلتُ مالِي منْ بعدِها مَطْلوبُ

    He said to me, 'What aim do you seek?'

    I said, 'Beyond her, I have no object of desire.'

  11. قال دعْها وسَلِّ قلبَكَ عنْها

    قلتُ هَلّا للعاشقين قُلوبُ

    He said, 'Leave her, and distract your heart from her.'

    I said, 'Have lovers no hearts?'

  12. قال نقّلْهُ ساعةً عنْ هَواها

    قلتُ ما فيهِ للوجودِ نَصيبُ

    He said, 'Turn it from loving her for an hour.'

    I said, 'In it, existence has no share.'

  13. قال قد عذّبَتْكَ هجْراً وصدّاً

    قلتُ فيها يُسْتَعْذَبُ التعْذيبُ

    He said, 'She has tormented you with abandonment and rejection.'

    I said, 'For her sake, torment is sweet.'

  14. قال لي قد تمنّع العطْفُ منْها

    قلتُ مهْلاً فالعِطْفُ منها رَطيبُ

    He said to me, 'Her affection has proved inaccessible.'

    I said, 'Easy—for her flank is supple.'

  15. قال هلْ يُقْنِعُ المشوقَ خيالٌ

    قلتُ لوْلا أنّ الخَيالَ كَذوبُ

    He said, 'Can a phantom satisfy the yearning lover?'

    I said, 'Were it not that the phantom is deceitful!'

  16. قال ماذا جَفا فؤادَك منها

    قلتُ سهْمُ اللّحاظِ وهْوَ مُصيبُ

    He said, 'What of hers has been cruel to your heart?'

    I said, 'The arrow of her glances—and it strikes true.'

  17. قال هَلْ طابَ بعدَها لكَ عيشٌ

    قلتُ دون الوِصالِ كيفَ يَطيبُ

    He said, 'Has life been sweet to you since her departure?'

    I said, 'Without union, how could it be sweet?'

  18. قال هل حالَ منكَ بالبُعْدِ حالٌ

    قلتُ حالِي مَدامِعٌ ونَحيبُ

    He said, 'Has separation changed your condition?'

    I said, 'My condition is tears and sobbing.'

  19. قال هل تنقَعُ الدموعُ غَليلاً

    قلتُ طيَّ الضّلوعِ منْها لَهيبُ

    He said, 'Do tears quench burning thirst?'

    I said, 'Within my ribs, from them comes a blaze.'

  20. قالَ ما رقّ منْكَ بعْدَ نَواها

    قلتُ جسْمٌ وأدْمُعٌ ونَسيبُ

    He said, 'What in you has grown delicate since her departure?'

    I said, 'My body, my tears, and my love poetry.'

  21. أصبَحَ القلبُ عاشِقاً في حُلاها

    فلهُ طَيَّ أضْلُعي تَقْليبُ

    The heart has become enamored of her charms,

    and so it turns restlessly within my ribs.

  22. كلّما روّعتْهُ شمسُ ضُحاها

    بغُروبٍ للدّمْعِ منّي غُروبُ

    Whenever the sun of her morning frightens it

    by setting, tears pour from me by the bucketful.