سلوا مقل المليحة عن فؤادي

وما قد حل فيه من الوداد

Ask the fair woman's eyes about my heart,

And the love that has settled within it.

تخبر أن صبري في انتقاص

وأن الشوق عندي في ازدياد

They will tell you that my patience is dwindling,

And that my longing is growing.

يميل قوامها كالغصن لينا

ولكن قلبها مثل الجماد

Her figure sways, supple as a branch,

And yet her heart is like lifeless matter.

فهل يلقى المعنى من هواها

مناه أويمنى بالمراد

So will the tormented lover find, through love for her,

His desire, or be promised what he seeks?

إذا مرت على العشاق يوما

تراهم هائمين بكل واد

If one day she passes by the lovers,

You see them wandering, lovesick, through every valley.

طُويتُ على محبتها وأهوى

لها نشراً يفوح بكل ناد

I am enfolded in love for her, and long

For a fragrance of hers that wafts through every gathering.

ملكت الصبّ يا حُسنُ فرفقاً

بصبّ قد ملكت من العباد

You have claimed the lovesick lover, O Beauty; be gentle

With a lover you have claimed from among humankind.

هواك بقلبه أضحى مُقيماً

وعنه لا يزول إلى المَعاد

Love for you has come to dwell in his heart,

And will not leave it until the Resurrection.

شراب الوصل منك به شفاء

لقلبي من تباريح البعاد

The draught of union with you holds a cure

For my heart against the agonies of separation.

قنعت من الزمان بيوم وصل

ألا فَصلي على رغم الأعادي

I am content with one day of union out of all of time;

Ah, then grant me union in defiance of the foes!

رعاك اللَه هل ترعين عهداً

كما أرعى ودادك باجتهاد

May God protect you—will you keep a pledge,

As I diligently cherish my love for you?

هوى قلبي يُذلّله لِخُود

بنظمي قد تبدّت بالمبادي

My heart's passion humbles it before a fair maiden,

Who has appeared through the opening letters of my verse.