سواه لو ذبت من نواه

ما اختار قلبي ولا نواه

Anyone else—even if I melted away from his estrangement—

my heart would neither choose nor seek.

ولو شوى بالقلا فؤادي

ما مال عنه ولا قلاه

And even if he roasted my heart with hatred,

it would neither turn from him nor hate him.

غصن نقا قده يراع

سبحان ربي الذي يراه

A bough upon a sand dune; his figure is a reed.

Glory be to my Lord, who sees him!

غني حسن اذا تغني

يطربني دائما غناه

Rich in beauty, whenever he sings,

his singing always enraptures me.

ان مال عني فلا عجيب

للغصن ان مال مع هواه

If he turns away from me, it is no wonder

for a bough to bend with its breeze.

بالقد والخد مذ تبدي

اذكرني البان مع نقاه

With his figure and cheek, since he appeared,

he has reminded me of the moringa tree with its sand dune.

للحظه الظبي قال احكي

وقال قولا وما حكاه

The gazelle said of his glance, “I can match it”;

it spoke the words, but never matched it.

لساقه مذ شكوت رقي

فزاد واللّه في جفاه

When I complained to his leg of my bondage,

then, by God, he grew still more aloof.

قالوا به قد فتنت دهرا

وجار فاعدل الى سواه

They said, “You have long been bewitched by him;

he has been unjust—so turn to someone else.”

قلت وصبري عليه فان

يطيل رب السما بقاه

I said, my patience with him spent,

“May the Lord of heaven prolong his life!”