كَفى حُزناً أَن لا أَزورَ أَحبَّتي

مِن القرب إِلّا بالتكلّفِ وَالجَهدِ

Enough of sorrow that I cannot visit my loved ones

It is sorrow enough that I do not visit my loved ones,

Except with effort and imposition

Though near, save through struggle and great strain.

وَإِنّي إِذا حُييتُ ناجَيتُ قائِدي

ليَعدِلني قَبلَ الإِجابَةِ في الرَدِّ

And if I am greeted, I whisper to my guide

And were I greeted, I must whisper to my guide,

To correct me before responding

To steady me before I can offer a reply.

إِذا ما أَفاضوا في الحَديث تَقاصَرت

بيَ النَفسُ حَتّى ما أُحير وَما أُبدي

When they converse at length, my soul shrinks

When they flow freely in talk, my breath grows short,

Until I am confused and cannot express

Until I am powerless to answer or reveal my heart.

كَأَنّي غَريبٌ بَينَهُم لست منهمُ

فَإِن لَم يَحولوا عَن وَفاء وَلا عهد

As if I am a stranger among them, not one of them

As if I were a stranger among them, not of their kin,

Yet if they do not turn from loyalty or covenant

Though they have not turned from loyalty nor broken a vow.

أُقاسي خُطوباً لا يَقوم بثِقلِها

مِن الناس إِلّا كُلُّ ذي مِرَّةَ جلد

I endure tribulations too heavy to bear

I endure calamities whose crushing weight could be borne

For any but the most steadfast of men

By none among men, save the resolute and enduring.