1. يا راحلينَ وبي من قربهم أملٌ

    لو أغنت الحيلتان القولُ والعملُ

    O departing ones, I still hope for their nearness,

    if only the two means—speech and action—could avail.

  2. سرتم وسار اشتياقي بعدكم مثلاً

    من دونه السامران الشعرُ والمثلُ

    You departed, and after you my longing became proverbial;

    the two evening companions—poetry and proverb—fall short of it.

  3. وظلَّ يعذُلني في حبّكم نفرٌ

    لا كانت المحنتان الحبُ والعذلُ

    A few people kept reproaching me for loving you.

    May the two afflictions—love and reproach—be no more!

  4. عطفاً علينا ولا تبغوا بنا بدلاً

    فما استوى التابعان العطفُ والبدلُ

    Show us kindness, and seek no replacement for us;

    for the two dependents—affection and replacement—are not alike.

  5. قد ذقتُ فضلكمُ دهراً فلا وأبي

    ما طاب لي الأحمران الخمرُ والعسلُ

    Long have I tasted your bounty; no, by my father,

    the two red things—wine and honey—have given me no delight.

  6. وقد هرمتُ أسى من هجركم وجوىً

    وشبَّ مني اثنتان الحرصُ والأملُ

    I have grown old with sorrow and heartache at your abandonment,

    while two things in me have grown young—eagerness and hope.

  7. غدرتم أو مللتم يا ذوي ثقتي

    لبئست الخصلتان الغدرُ والمللُ

    You have betrayed me or grown weary, you in whom I placed my trust.

    How vile are the two traits—betrayal and weariness!

  8. قالوا كبرتَ ولمْ تبرح كذا غَزلاً

    أزرى بك الفاضحان الشيبُ والغزلُ

    They said, “You have grown old, yet remain so amorous;

    the two shaming things—gray hair and amorousness—have disgraced you.”

  9. لم أنسَ يوم نادوا للرحيل ضحىً

    وقُرّب المركبان الطرفُ والجملُ

    I have not forgotten the day they called for departure at midmorning,

    and the two mounts—the noble steed and the camel—were brought near.

  10. وأشرقت بهواديهم هوادجهم

    ولاحت الزينتان الحليُ والحللُ

    Their howdahs shone with their necks,

    and the two adornments—jewelry and fine robes—came into view.

  11. وودّعوني بأجفانٍ ممرضةٍ

    تغضها الرقبتان الخوفُ والخجلُ

    They bade me farewell with eyelids that cause lovesickness,

    lowered by the two apprehensions—fear and shyness.

  12. كم عفّروا بينَ أيدي العيسِ من بطلٍ

    أصابه المضنيان الغنجُ والكحلُ

    How many a hero they cast into the dust before the pale camels,

    struck by the two enfeeblers—coquetry and kohl.

  13. دارت عليهم كؤوس الحبِّ مترعةً

    المسكران الخمرُ والمقلُ

    Brimming cups of love passed around among them,

    the two intoxicants—wine and eyes.

  14. وآخرين اشتفوا منهم بضمّهم

    يا حبذا الشافيان الضمُّ والقبلُ

    And others, in whose embrace they found healing;

    O how lovely the two healers—embracing and kisses!

  15. كأنما الروضُ منهم روضةٌ أنفٌ

    يُزهي بها المثبتان السهلُ والجبلُ

    As though the meadow, through them, were a fresh, ungrazed garden,

    with which the two fixed places—the plain and the mountain—are adorned.

  16. من لمسترق الروابي والوهاد بهم

    ما راقه المعجبان الخصرُ والكفلُ

    Whoever is not enthralled by the hills and valleys through them,

    has not been charmed by the two delights—the waist and the rump.

  17. يا حاديَ العيس خُذْني مأخذاً حسناً

    لا يستوي الضدان الريث والعجلُ

    O driver of the pale camels, treat me kindly;

    the two opposites—delay and haste—are not equal.

  18. لم يبق لي غيرُ ذكرٍ أو بكا طللٍ

    لو ينفع الباقيان الذكرُ والطللُ

    Nothing remains to me but remembrance or weeping over a ruined campsite.

    If only the two remaining things—remembrance and the ruined campsite—could help!

  19. يا ليت شعري ولا أنس ولا جذل

    هل يرفع الطيبان الإنسُ والجذلُ

    Would that I knew—with neither companionship nor joy—

    whether the two delights—companionship and joy—will lift me up.