نَسيمُ الصَّبا أهدى إلى القلب ما أهدى

وقد حَمَلَتْ أرواحها الشّيحَ والرّندا

The morning breeze brought to my heart that which it brought,

Bearing with it the fragrance of wormwood and lavender.

ولي كَبدٌ حرَّى لعلِّي أرى بها

بريَّا نسيمٍ مرَّ بي سحراً بَردا

My liver burned so that perhaps I would see in it

A cool breeze that passed me at dawn bringing coldness.

فأصبحتُ أذري الدَّمع فذًّا وتَوْأَماً

تَخُدُّ على خدَّيَّ حينئذٍ خدَّا

Thus I began shedding tears abundantly,

Which would flow down my cheek continuously.

كأنِّي اعْتَصَرْتُ المعصرات بأَعْين

نَثَرْنَ غداةَ البين من لؤلؤٍ عقدا

As if I had pressed the juice of ripe grapes from eyes

That scattered the next morning strings of pearls as necklaces.

فما بلَّ ذاك الدَّمع منِّي حشاشة

أبى الله إلاَّ أنْ تضرم لي وقدا

But those tears did not moisten me,

For God willed only that embers be kindled for me.

ولامَ أُصَيْحابي فؤاداً متيَّماً

فما نَفَعَ اللَّومُ الفؤادَ ولا أجدى

And my friends blamed a passionate heart,

But blaming did not benefit my heart nor help.

ذكرتُهم والدَّمع يجري فلم أكنْ

مَلَكْتُ لذاك الدَّمع يوم جرى ردَّا

I remembered them while the tears flowed, but I could not

Control those tears the day they flowed.

وبتُّ أُداري مهجةً لم أَجِدْ لها

خلاصاً من الأَشجان يوماً ولا بُدَّا

I spent the night turning restlessly, finding

No relief from anguish, neither a day nor forever.

وقلتُ لسعدٍ دَعْ ملامَك في الهوى

فما زادَني لوماً فقد زادَني وجدا

And I said to Saʿd, “Stop blaming me for passion,”

For blame did not increase me in suffering but increased my torment.

يُهَيِّجُ وَجْدي وهو غير مساعدي

وما أنا لاقٍ منه إنْ لامني سعدا

It provokes my torment while not helping me,

And I cannot avoid it if Saʿd blames me.

يقول اصطَبر عمَّن تحبّ وإنَّني

يريني الهوى من دون ما قاله سدَّا

He says, “Be patient with whom you love,” yet

Passion shows me other than what he said as a barrier.

ولا تَشِمِ البَرق اليمانيّ فإنَّه

متى لاحَ أورى في حشاشتك الزّندا

“Do not smell the Yemeni lightning, for it,

When it flashes, reveals the deadly viper in your darkness.”

وإيَّاك إيَّاك الصَّريمَ وأَهله

فإنَّ الظْباءَ العُفْرَ تقتنص الأُسْدا

And beware, beware the biting snake and its hole,

For the shy gazelle is prey for the lion.

وهل نافعٌ ما قال من بعد ما رمى

بعَيْنَيْه ريم الجزع سهم الرَّدى عمدا

Of what use is what he said after he aimed

At my eyes the arrows of fate and calamity deliberately?

بنفسي الغزالُ القانصي بلواحظٍ

من السّحْرِ مَرضى تمنع الأَسَدَ الوَرْدا

By my life, the shy gazelle is slain by glances

Of magic, sick gazelles that prevent the lion from sweet basil.

إذا ما رَمَيْنَ القلبَ سهماً أصَبْنَهُ

كأنْ قَصَدَتْ في قتل عاشقها قصدا

When they shoot the heart with an arrow they hit it

As if intending to kill their lover intentionally.

به أربي يا هل ترى هذه النوى

تُبَدِّلُنا بالقرب من بُعْدِها بعدا

With it, I wonder, O do you see these intentions

Changing their nearness to us into remoteness?

أرى النَّفس لا تهوى سوى من تَوَدُّه

ولم تَتَكَلَّفْ مهجةُ الوامق الوُدَّا

I see the soul desires none but the beloved,

And the breast of the passionate sought no love but desire.