1. فرطتُ فيكِ بسوءِ تَدْبِيري

    فجرى القضاءُ بعكسِ تَقْدِيري

    I neglected you through my poor judgment;

    so fate unfolded contrary to my reckoning.

  2. وحميتُ صَفْوِي فيكِ عن كدرٍ

    حتَّى مُنِيتُ بكل تَكْدِيرِ

    And I guarded my clear joy in you against any taint,

    until I was afflicted by every disturbance.

  3. وسَمَحْتُ فيكِ بِرَاحَتي كَرماً

    من يَشْتَرِي كَرَمِي بتَقْتِيرِ

    And, generously, I gave up my ease for your sake;

    who will buy my generosity with stinginess?

  4. وحَذِرْتُ هَتْكَ السِّتْرِ منك وقَدْ

    أَوقَعْتِني في كل مَحْذُورِ

    And I feared your tearing away the veil, yet

    you cast me into every dreaded danger.

  5. فكَسَلْتُ فيك فَيَالَهُ كَسَلاً

    بُسِطَتْ بِهِ أَيْدِي المَقَادِيرِ

    So I grew slack toward you—what slackness!

    Through it, the hands of fate were extended.

  6. مالي وللأَقْدَارِ أَظْلِمُهَا

    قد كان وَصْلُكِ تَحْتَ مَقْدُورِي

    What have I against the fates, that I wrong them?

    Union with you had been within my power.

  7. يُهْنى عليك رَحَى الفؤادِ بِه

    سكنَ السَّماءَ فحلَّ في البير

    May the heart's millstone be pleasing to you through it;

    it dwelt in the sky, then settled in the well.

  8. ما حلَّ عِقداً كنتُ ناظِمَهُ

    إِلاَّ بِتَعْقِيد وتَغْيير

    It unstrung no necklace I had strung

    except through entanglement and alteration.

  9. رأَيْي فَطِيرٌ ذُكَّ آخِرهُ

    والرأْيُ يُحْمَدُ بَعْدَ تَخْمِيرِ

    My judgment is unleavened; its end was kindled.

    And judgment is praised after leavening.

  10. يا لَيْتَني عُزِّزْتُ فيكِ فلو

    عَزِّرْتُ فيكِ حَمَدْتُ تَعْزِيرِي

    Oh, would that I had been strengthened concerning you; for had

    I been chastised over you, I would have praised my chastisement.

  11. بِيَدِي فَيَا نَدَمِي جَرَحْتُ يدَيِ

    فإِذا بكيتُ فغيرُ مَعْذُورِ

    With my own hand—oh, my regret!—I wounded my hand;

    so when I weep, I am without excuse.

  12. يا طائراً حازته وانفتحت

    عنه يَدايَ فطارَ في الدُّورِ

    O bird once held, then freed as they opened—

    my hands around it—so it flew among the houses.

  13. يا كاسر الأَجفان عن حَوَرٍ

    حتى تَحَير أَعينُ الحُور

    O you whose drooping lids disclose dark-and-white eyes,

    till the eyes of the houris are bewildered.

  14. يا من تستَّر ثروةً وغِنىً

    حتى تهتَّكَ كلُّ مَستورِ

    O you who cloaked yourself in wealth and riches,

    until every hidden thing was laid bare.

  15. القلبُ بَعْدَك غيرُ مسرورٍ

    والرَّبْعُ بعْدَكَ غيرُ مَعْمورِ

    The heart is joyless after you,

    and the dwelling is uninhabited after you.

  16. والشمسُ في عيني قَدْ خَلَعت

    من بَعْدِ بُعْدِك خِلْعَة النُّور

    And the sun, in my sight, has cast off

    its robe of light since your departure.

  17. والعيشُ بَعْدَك مظلمٌ حَرِجٌ

    فكأَنما هو قلبُ مَهْجُور

    And life after you is dark and straitened,

    as though it were the heart of one forsaken.

  18. والمجلسُ المشهورُ روْنَقُهُ

    قد صَارَ بَعْدَكَ غيرَ مَشْهُورِ

    And the gathering, renowned for its splendor,

    has become obscure after you.

  19. والكأسُ بَعْدكَ غيرُ ضَاحِكَة

    والدَّنُّ بعدَكَ غيرُ مَسْجُور

    And the cup no longer smiles after you,

    and the wine jar is no longer full after you.

  20. والوردُ صفَّرهُ وأَسقمَهُ

    همٌّ عليك فصار كالخِيرِي

    And the rose has been yellowed and sickened

    by grief for you, and has become like the wallflower.

  21. وتفرَّق الإِخوانُ واجتمعوا

    لكن على نكدٍ وتكديرِ

    And the friends dispersed and came together,

    but in misery and distress.

  22. قبروا سرورهمُ عليَّ أَسىً

    إِنَّ السرور أَجلُّ مَقْبُور

    They buried their joy in sorrow for me;

    indeed, joy is the noblest thing buried.

  23. ولقد أَخذتُ كُلَّ باطيةٍ

    ولقد نسلتُ كلَّ طُنْبُور

    And indeed, I have taken every wine bowl,

    and indeed, I have stripped every lute of its strings.

  24. ولقد بكيت ونُحْتُ من حَزَني

    بغريبِ مَنظُومِي ومَنْثُوري

    And indeed, I have wept and wailed from my sorrow

    with my uncommon verse and prose.

  25. وشكرتُ طيفَكِ حين يطرقُني

    فعلمتُ أَنِّي أَيُّ مَغْرُورِ

    And I thanked your phantom when it visited me at night;

    then I realized how deluded I was.

  26. ضيَّعتُ مِنْكِ الحقَّ متَّضحَا

    ورجعْتُ أَقْنَعُ مِنك بالزُّور

    I let the plainly evident truth of you slip away,

    and returned, content with your illusion.