على غير ضَلاَّتِ الأَمانِي تَعَوُّلِي

ومن غيرِ علاَّت المُدامِ تَعَلُّلِي

Do not rely on the illusions of wishes,

Nor seek pretexts in the pleasures of wine.

ومثلي يرى شرْبَ الدِّماءِ محلَّلا

وشربَ دمِ الصهباءِ غيرَ محلَّل

One like me sees drinking blood as lawful,

Yet drinking the blood of a fair maiden unlawful.

أَصولُ ولكن مِنْ يراعِيَ عَامِلي

وأَسطو ولكن من لساني مُنْصُلي

My principles are sound, but who considers what I have endured?

My roots are firm, yet who cares that my tongue is torn out?

وما هو إِلاَّ أَنَّ عندِي رسالةً

إِلى سَهْمِ عينيهِ بإِملاءِ مَقْتَلِي

It is but that I have a message

For the arrow of his eyes, dictating my demise.

وما الحبُّ إِلاَّ ما جرى مِنْ مَدمعي

وما هو عنه بالحديثِ المطوَّل

Love is naught but what flows from my tears,

It cannot be captured in elaborate speech.

إِذا قيل لا تهلك أَسىً فجهَالةٌ

لقائِل هذا قولُه وتَجمَّل

If one says, “Do not perish from agony,”

ignorance shapes such a saying and its delivery.

قفا نَبك من ذِكْرى حبيبِيَ وحدَه

أَأَخلط ذكراً للحبِيبِ بمنْزِل

Stop crying over the memory of my beloved alone,

Shall I mix the memory of my beloved with another’s abode?