نَعَمْ هَذِهِ الدَّارُ الَّتي أَنْتَ تَطْلُبُ

إِلَى أَيْنَ عَنْهَا يَالَكَ الخَيْرُ تَذْهَبُ

Yes, this is the abode you seek

To where, my dear friend, does your goodness flee?

أَعَنْ دَارِ لَيْلَى بَعْدَ مَا بَانَ بَانُهَا

وَفَاحَ شَذَا أَنْفَاسِهَا تَتَحَجَّبُ

Is it to Layla's home, now that it stands revealed,

And the scent of her breath wafts veiled?

لَقَدْ سَمَحَتْ رُوحِي بُقْربِ مَزَارِهَا

بفُرْقَةِ جِسْمٍ لَمْ تَزَلْ فِيهِ تَرْغَبُ

My soul has allowed me near her tomb,

Despite my body's separation, which it still desires.

وَهَلْ كَانَتِ الأَجْسَادُ إِلاَّ مَطِيَّنَا

تُقَرِّبُهَا مَعْنىً لَهَا حِينَ تَقْرَبُ

Were bodies ever anything but our vehicles?

Drawing meaning near when they draw near.

نَعَمْ ذَلِكَ المَعْنَى الَّذِي أَشْرَقَتْ بِهِ

بُدُورُ سَنَاهَا بَعْدمَا عَنْكَ تَغْرِبُ

Yes, that meaning which shone through

The cycles of her years after you were estranged;

وَلاَحتْ وَهَلْ يَوْماً تَوَارَتْ وَإِنَّمَا

بِتَنْزِيهِهَا عَنْ ذَاكَ طَرْفِي يُكَذِّبُ

It appeared - did it ever disappear? My eyes deny

That it vanished through her withdrawal from me.