1. قلبي ترامت به الشجون

    والدمع فاضت به العيون

    Sorrows have tossed my heart about.

    And eyes have overflowed with tears.

  2. هوى بى اليأي من غرامي

    وعدة اليائس الزفير

    Despair over my passion has cast me down.

    And sighing is the despairing one's resource.

  3. والليل لا ينجلى بصبح

    والنوم عن مقلتي نفور

    And night is not dispelled by dawn.

    And sleep shuns my eye.

  4. يا حبذا الموت من صديق

    في حبه صادق أمين

    Ah, what a welcome friend is death,

    Sincere and faithful in his love.

  5. لا يخفق القلب في حماه

    ولا ترى العين من هويت

    The heart does not beat in his refuge,

    Nor does the eye see the one I loved.

  6. وينقضى الهجر والعذاب

    واليأس والشوق والهيام

    And estrangement and torment come to an end,

    And despair, longing, and love's frenzy.

  7. وترقد النفس في ظلام

    يجىء من بعد ظلام

    And the soul lies asleep in darkness

    That comes after darkness.

  8. هذا هو السعد يا رفاقي

    يا ليتني في غد أموت

    This is happiness, O my companions.

    Oh, would that I might die tomorrow—

  9. أموت في زهرة الشباب

    كالغصن أودت به السموم

    Die in the bloom of youth,

    Like a branch killed by the scorching wind.

  10. وهل يعيش الفتى اذا ما

    لم يبق في حبه رجاء

    And can a young man live when

    No hope remains in his love?

  11. والمرء إن خانه هواه

    فعيشه والردى سواء

    And if a man's love betrays him,

    Then his life and death are alike.

  12. والزهر في عينه قتاد

    والشمس في عينه غيوم

    And flowers, to his eye, are thorn-bushes,

    And the sun, to his eye, is clouds.

  13. وبلبل الروض إن تغنى

    والناس في دورهم رقود

    And if the garden's nightingale sings,

    While people slumber in their homes,

  14. يخاله البوم صارخات

    وخلفها السهد والدموع

    He takes it for shrieking owls,

    And in their wake come sleeplessness and tears.

  15. والسعد عن نفسه بعيد

    والدمع في خده نجيع

    And happiness is far from his soul,

    And tears upon his cheek are blood.

  16. والنار في قلبه تلظى

    وقلبه إن خبت وقود

    And fire blazes in his heart,

    And if it dies down, his heart is fuel.

  17. في ذمة الله نفس حر

    عاشت على الضيم لا تهان

    In God's keeping is a free man's soul.

    It lived under oppression, yet was not debased.

  18. ماراقها في الحياة عيش

    ولا رعى عهدها صديق

    No life in this world pleased it,

    Nor did a friend keep faith with it.

  19. رأت خيار الورى ذئاباً

    يقودها الغدر والعقوق

    It saw the best of humankind as wolves,

    Led by treachery and ingratitude.

  20. أودى بها الهجر والزمان

    لعلها في الثرى تصان

    Estrangement and time brought about its death;

    Perhaps it will be kept safe in the earth.