صَبٌّ بليلىَ ذَرَفَتْ مقلتَاه

صَبٌّ بليلىَ ذَرَفَتْ مقلتَاه

بِكا ولم ينْفعْه فيها بُكاه

بِكا ولم ينْفعْه فيها بُكاه

A lover of Layla—his two eyes shed tears;

A lover wept over Layla, his eyes spilling tears

he wept, but his weeping availed him nothing with her.

Crying but his weeping did not benefit him

لاَ تعذُلاهُ فهو مُستَهْتِرٌ

لاَ تعذُلاهُ فهو مُستَهْتِرٌ

بُحِبَّها إيَّاكما تعْذُلاه

بُحِبَّها إيَّاكما تعْذُلاه

Do not reproach him, you two, for he is consumed

Do not blame him, for he is infatuated

with love for her; beware, you two, of reproaching him.

With his love for you just as you blame him

كُفّا عَن اللَّوم له قَدْبه

كُفّا عَن اللَّوم له قَدْبه

مِنْ حُبِ ليلى عامرٍ ما كفاه

مِنْ حُبِ ليلى عامرٍ ما كفاه

Desist, you two, from blaming him; he already bears

Stop blaming him, for he is filled

enough from his love of Layla of ʿAmir.

With love for Layla that has overwhelmed him

ماداه إلاّ هجرها إنما

ماداه إلاّ هجرها إنما

في وصلها أنْ واصلته شِفاه

في وصلها أنْ واصلته شِفاه

Nothing ails him but her desertion; only

Nothing cures him but her abandonment

in union with her, if she joins him, lies his cure.

While her union would heal him if her lips approached

شفاه ممامسَّه من ضَنىً

شفاه ممامسَّه من ضَنىً

تقبيله ما بين تلك الشفاه

تقبيله ما بين تلك الشفاه

He was cured of the wasting sickness that afflicted him

Lips that have kissed away his misery

by his kissing what lay between those lips.

His kissing between those lips

يهوى لِقاهَا وهي قد أعرضت

يهوى لِقاهَا وهي قد أعرضت

عن كلِّ مَا يهوى وتأبى لقاه

عن كلِّ مَا يهوى وتأبى لقاه

He longs to meet her, while she has turned away

He yearns to meet her, but she has turned

from all he desires, and refuses to meet him.

Away from all he desires and refuses to meet him

يا قومُ مَا أصعبُ مِنْ عَاشقٍ

يا قومُ مَا أصعبُ مِنْ عَاشقٍ

صَبٍّ لُقْيَاه من لا يشاه

صَبٍّ لُقْيَاه من لا يشاه

O people, what is harder than a lover,

O people, nothing is harder than a lover

besotted, meeting one who does not desire him?

Infatuated, whose love does not desire him

فأَهِ للعيش الذي قد مضى

فأَهِ للعيش الذي قد مضى

ولم يُفد فيما مضى قولُ آه

ولم يُفد فيما مضى قولُ آه

Ah, then, for the life that has passed,

So alas for the life now past

and saying “Ah” availed nothing for what had passed.

And words of lament did not benefit what is past

إياه كنّا بكثيب الحِمى

إياه كنّا بكثيب الحِمى

وخِدرَ ليلى خدرنا من سناه

وخِدرَ ليلى خدرنا من سناه

That life [wording unclear]—we were at the sandhill of al-Hima,

We were with him at the Kuthayb dunes

and Layla's bower—our bower was made of its radiance.

While Layla’s absence made us forget him

هيفاء أمّا ردفُها فالنَّقا

هيفاء أمّا ردفُها فالنَّقا

تهتزُ من أعلاَه تلك القناه

تهتزُ من أعلاَه تلك القناه

Slender-waisted—as for her hips, they are a sand dune,

As for Haifaa, her follow-up is vigilance

from whose summit that reed sways.

Shaking from its peaks, those palm trees

يا بارقا بالغور أمستْ له

يا بارقا بالغور أمستْ له

سحائبٌ بالودق تسقى رُباه

سحائبٌ بالودق تسقى رُباه

O lightning-flash in al-Ghawr, where at evening there are

O you who light up the valley, clouds have gathered

clouds watering its hills with rain,

Over it, watering its pasture

كأنما الأنواء منها ندىَ

كأنما الأنواء منها ندىَ

يمينُ يحيى صَادفته العُفَاه

يمينُ يحيى صَادفته العُفَاه

as though the rains from them were the bounty

As if the blessings coming from it are dew

of Yahya's right hand, when seekers of gifts encountered him.

Whose right hand Fate has made successful

يحيى بن إبراهيم محيي النَّدى

يحيى بن إبراهيم محيي النَّدى

بعدَ الفنا يا لكُما من حياه

بعدَ الفنا يا لكُما من حياه

Yahya son of Ibrahim, reviver of generosity

Yahya ibn Ibrahim, reviver of dew

after its extinction—what life there is in you both!

After death! What a life you have!