لِمَن طَلَلٌ بِالنَعفِ نَعفِ وَقِيرِ

يُشَبَّهُ مَغناهُ كِتابَ زَبُورِ

For whom are the ruins with crumbling pillars and debris,

Its singing resembles the book of Psalms,

أَضَرَّ بِهِ بَعدَ الأُلى عَمَرُوا بِهِ

تَقادُمُ أَرواحٍ وَمَرُّ دُهُورِ

Time has harmed it after its prime,

With the passing of souls and ages,

أَقُولُ لِعَبدِ اللَهِ وَالقَلبُ واجِبٌ

وَمِن قَبلِهِ ما قُلتُهُ لِكَثِيرِ

I say to Abdullah while my heart is willing,

What I have said to many before him,

فَما أَنسَ مِلأَ شَياءِ لا أَنسَ مَجلِساً

لَنا وَلَها بِالسَفحِ دُونَ ثَبِيرِ

It did not forget the place of our gathering,

For us and for it below the hill, not far off,

وَلا قَولَها وَهناً وَقَد بَلَّ نَحرَها

سَوابِقُ دَمعٍ ما يَجِفُّ غَزَيرِ

Nor her words of affection, as tears streamed down her neck,

Abundant tears that do not dry up,

أَأَنتَ الَّذي حُدِّثتُ أَنَّكَ راحِلٌ

غَداةَ غَدٍ أَو رائِحٌ بِهَجِيرِ

Are you the one I was told would be leaving

Tomorrow or the day after hastily,

فَقُلتُ يَسِيرٌ بَعضُ يَومٍ أَغيبُهُ

وَما بَعضُ يَومٍ غِبتِه بِيَسِيرِ

So I said, it is easy to be gone a day,

For being gone a day is not difficult,

أَحِينَ عَصَيتُ العاذِلينَ إِلَيكُمُ

وَنازَعَ حَبلي في هَواكِ أَمِيري

When have I disobeyed those who advised against you,

And my tribe disputed my love for you, my prince,

وَأَنهَمَني فِيكِ الأَقارِبُ كُلُّهُم

وَباحَ بِما يُخفى الفُؤادُ ضَمِيري

And all my kin blamed me about you,

Revealing what my conscience concealed,

فَقُلتُ لَها قَولَ أمرئٍ شَفَّهُ الهَوى

إِلَيها وَلَو طالَ الزَمانُ فَقِيرِ

So I said to her words of a man whose love,

Drew him to her, however long he remained deprived,

وَيُخفى بِها وَجداً شَديداً وَقَلبُهُ

إِلَيها كَمَشدُودِ الوِثاقِ أَسِيرِ

And he hides intense passion, while his heart,

Is drawn to her, like a prisoner bound in shackles,

وَما أَنا إِن شَطَّت بي الدارُ أَودَنَت

بي الدارُ عَنكُم فَاعلَمي بِصَبُور

I am not, if the house parts me from you,

Or the house brings me closer to you, know that I am patient,

أَشارَت لِتِربَيها إِلَيَّ وَأَومَضَت

فَأَحبِب بِها مِن مُومِضٍ وَمُشِيرِ

She gestured with her eyelids at me and winked

So love her for winking and gesturing,

فَلَمّا تَجَلّى لَيلُنا وَبَدَت لَنا

كَواكِبُ فَجرٍ بَعدَ ذاكَ مُنِيرِ

When our night was unveiled and the stars of dawn appeared to us,

After that illuminator,

وَقُلنَ أَنطَلِق لا كانَ آخر عَهدِنا

بِمَلقاكَ في سِترٍ سُترتَ سَتِيرِ

We said, let's go, for our last meeting was,

In your visit cloaked in secrecy,

فَإِنّا نَخافُ الحَيَّ أَن يَفزَعُوا بِنا

وَعَينَ عَدُوٍّ أَن يَراكَ بَصِيرِ

We fear the living may be startled by us,

And the eye of an enemy may see you clearly,

نَهَضنَ بِأَعجاز ثِقالٍ تُمِيلُها

فَتَسمُو بِأَعناقٍ لَها وَصُدُورِ

They got up with heavy busts that swayed,

Rising with necks and chests,

كَعِبرِيِّ بانٍ أَثبتَتهُ أُصُولُهُ

يُحَرِّكُ أَعلاهُ نَسيمُ دَبُورِ

Like a firmly rooted juniper shaken at the top,

By the blowing of a cold north wind,

فَلَمّا اِستَوَت أَقدامُهُنَّ وَلَم تَكَد

عَلى هُضمِ أَكبادٍ وَلُطفِ خُصُورِ

When their feet steadied and they barely moved,

With suppressed livers and gentle cores,

تَهادى نِعاجِ الرَملِ مَرَّت سَواكِناً

بِأَجرَعَ مُوليِّ الدِماثِ مَطِيرِ

The docile sheep passed by us calmly,

With the trotting gait of a wet runner,

تَرَبَّعنَ غَورَ الأَرضِ حَتّى إِذا بَدَت

مِنَ النَجمِ أَرواحٌ ذَواتُ حَرُورِ

They sat down in the land’s hollow, until stars

With hot spirits appeared,

وَأَورَدَ أَهلَ الماءِ غِيّاً وَأَفصَحَت

حَمامَةُ أَيكٍ ناضِرٍ بِهَديرِ

And the aquatic creatures came confused,

The coo of a bush dove in a creek burst out,

دَعاهُنَّ نَجدٌ لِلجِلاسِ فَذُكِّرَت

ظِلالَ بَساتينٍ بِهِ وَقُصُورِ

Najd called them to sit, so they were reminded,

Of gardens’ shadows and palaces,

وَكُنَّ بِهِ في صيفَةِ الحَيِّ كُلِّها

إِلى سَرَبٍ في رَوضَةٍ وَغَديرِ

And they were in its summer, all of it,

To a herd in a meadow and creek,