لو أنَّ طرفي يراهُ ما سهرا

لو أنَّ طرفي يراهُ ما سهرا

ولا جرى منه دمعهُ دُررا

ولا جرى منه دمعهُ دُررا

If my eye could see him, it would not stay awake,

Had he seen me stay up nightlong for him

nor would its tears stream forth like pearls.

And for him flowed pearls of tears in streams

لا أمل القلبُ عندَ سلوتهِ

لا أمل القلبُ عندَ سلوتهِ

ولا أرادَ السلوَّ ما قدرا

ولا أرادَ السلوَّ ما قدرا

The heart found no hope in its solace,

The heart would not have hoped of solace

nor wished for forgetfulness as long as it could.

Nor would Solace have wished their decree

أشكو إلى اللَه من محاسنهِ

أشكو إلى اللَه من محاسنهِ

أكثرَ مما أن يشبهَ القمرا

أكثرَ مما أن يشبهَ القمرا

I complain to God of his charms—

I complain to God of his beauty

of more than his resemblance to the moon.

More than the moon resembles his features

لو أنَّ من لينهِ ورقتهِ

لو أنَّ من لينهِ ورقتهِ

بقلبهِ ما جفا ولا هجرا

بقلبهِ ما جفا ولا هجرا

If some of his softness and tenderness

Had his tenderness and his gentility

were in his heart, he would neither shun nor forsake.

Been inside his heart, no aversion, no leaving