1. لمن بالهوادج يخترقنَ الوادي

    رفقاً فلم يحملن غير فؤادي

    Whose are those crossing the valley in howdahs?

    Gently—for they have carried nothing but my heart.

  2. سارت وما التفتت كانَّ ضياءها

    باعت سهاد جفونها برقادي

    She departed without turning back, as though her radiance

    had traded her eyelids’ sleeplessness for my slumber.

  3. ساروا وقد زودتهم بمدامعي

    والدمع للأحباب أحسن زادِ

    They departed, and I had provisioned them with my tears.

    And tears are the best provision for loved ones.

  4. يا راحلين وفي الفؤاد مقامهم

    ولغيرهم واللّه لست أنادي

    O departing ones, whose dwelling is within the heart,

    and, by God, it is none but them I call.

  5. حاشاكم أن تنكروا ودَّ الذي

    عرفت سجيتهُ بصدق ودادِ

    Far be it from you to deny the love of one

    whose nature is known for sincere affection.

  6. هي شيمة بي أن أدوم على الوفا

    ورثتْ عن الآباءِ والأجدادِ

    It is a trait in me to remain faithful,

    inherited from fathers and forefathers.

  7. أن كان في بعدي رضاكم منيتي

    وبهِ المنية حبذا أبعادي

    If my absence holds your contentment—my desire—

    though death lies in it, how welcome my banishment!

  8. كم قد أطلعت ولم أكلفهم سوى

    أن لا تطيعوا في الهوى حسَّادي

    How much I have revealed! I required nothing of them but

    that you not heed my enviers in matters of love,

  9. حفظاً على عهد لعظمة شأنهِ

    بدمائنا قد خط لا بمدادِ

    to preserve a covenant which, for its great worth,

    was inscribed in our blood, not in ink.

  10. وأنا الذي عن حبكم لا انثني

    وإليكمُ ألقيت كل قيادي

    And I am one who will not turn away from loving you,

    and to you I have surrendered all my reins.

  11. وأظل مفتخراً بأني رقكم

    طوعاً وفي هذا أرى إسعادي

    And I remain proud to be your slave,

    willingly—and in this I find my happiness.

  12. اللّه أكبر قل لمن يغتابنا

    أن الإله عليه بالمرصادِ

    God is greatest! Tell whoever speaks ill of us

    that God lies in wait for him.

  13. ذابيت قلبي فافحصوا سكانهُ

    هل فيهِ غير الأهل والأولادِ

    Here is my heart’s house; examine its inhabitants:

    does it hold anyone but family and children?

  14. يا ساكني بيروت لي في ربعكم

    بنت الكرام سليلة الأجوادِ

    O inhabitants of Beirut, in your quarter I have

    a daughter of the noble, a descendant of the generous.

  15. لم أنسها يوم النوى إذ أقبلت

    غرثى الوشاح بقدها الميادِ

    I have not forgotten her on the day of parting, when she approached,

    slender-waisted, her sash hungry about her swaying figure.

  16. وبدت تطارحني الوداع ومقلتي

    مزجت سواقي دمعها بسوادِ

    And she appeared, exchanging farewells with me, while my eye

    mingled the rivulets of its tears with blackness.

  17. يا عنترةً ما راق لي من بعدها

    عيشٌ وعيشي صار غير مرادي

    O Antarah, since her departure I have found no delight

    in life; my life has become other than I desire.

  18. ما كنت أرضى بالكثير بقربكم

    حتى رضيت بطيفكم ببعادي

    I was not content with abundance when near you,

    until, far away, I became content with your phantom.

  19. مرَّت بنا الأعياد وهي كئيبةٌ

    وكأنما خطرت بثوب حدادِ

    The festivals passed us by, and they were sorrowful,

    as though they had glided past in mourning dress.

  20. ما العيد إلا قربكم ولقاؤكم

    أن اللقاءَ لا يهج الأعيادِ

    The only festival is nearness to you and meeting you;

    [Apparently intended: meeting is the most joyous of festivals.]