نَسِيمَ الصِبا عَرِّج بِأَكنافِ نَعمانِ
وَصَرِّف لِأَحبابي غرامي وَأَشجاني
The morning breeze, pass by Na'man's abodes
And let loose my passions and laments for my loved ones
وَخُذ مِن سَلامِي نَفحَةً تَنثَني بِها
لِلُقياكَ أَعطافٌ مِنَ الرندِ وَالبانِ
And take with you my greetings, fluttering
To meet them, folds of musk and ambergris
تَوَصَّل بِإِخلاص المَحبَّةِ نَحوَهُم
تُلاقِ لَدَيِهم كُلَّ عَطفٍ وَتَحنانِ
Reach out to them with loyalty and true love
Find with them every affection and tenderness
وَإِن سَأَلُوا ماذا النُحول فَقُل لَهُم
حَنِيني لَما يَلقى المُحِبُّونَ أَضناني
And if they ask, “How is he wasting away?” tell them
I yearn for what lovers long for in their misery
تَحمَّل إِلى تِلكَ الأَباطِحِ وَالرُبى
تَحيّةَ خَفّاقِ الجَوانِحِ وَلهانِ
Bear to those sand dunes and open plains
The greeting of a fluttering, fervent heart
رِياضٌ كَأَنَّ الرَوضَ فِيها عَرائِسٌ
تُحلّى بِأَسماطٍ وَتُجلى بِتِيجانِ
Gardens where maidens frolic as if in a meadow
Adorned with braids and radiant with crowns
تَدَفَّقَ فِيها كُلُّ أَزرَقَ سَلسَل
وَغَنّى عَلَيها كُلُّ أَورَقَ حَنّانِ
Where streamlets of lazuli flow
And every warbling nightingale sings
أَذُوبُ لَها شَوقاً وَإِن لَم أُلاقِها
وَلَكِنّ أَوطاري لَدَيها وَأَوطانِي
I pine for them though we never meet
But my land and home are next to theirs
أَيَعلَمُ سُكّانُ الغَضى أَنّ بُعدَهُم
يَشُبُّ الغَضى في قَلبِ مُكتَئِبٍ عانِي
Do the dwellers of the valley know
That their absence makes my grieving heart suffer?
وَهَل عِندَ جِيرانِ العَقيق بِأَنّنِي
لِفُرقَتِهم ذابَ العَقيقُ بِأَجفاني
And do my neighbors at al-‘Aqeeq know
That in their separation, carnelian melts in my eyes?
وَأنّ أَحاديث العُذَيب لِمسمَعي
أَلَذُّ مِن العَذبِ الزُلالِ لِظَمآنِ
The melodies of ath-Thubayb are sweeter to my hearing
Than the sweetest nectar to a thirsty man
كَفى شاهِداً بِالشَوقِ جِسمي وَمَدمَعي
فَذا رَمَقٌ فانٍ وَذا غَدَقٌ قاني
My body and my tears bear witness to my longing—
One fading, the other overflowing
وَحَسبي وَفاءً أَو صَفاءً بِأَن أَرى
مِنَ الغَدرِ صَبري أَو مِنَ الإِثمِ سُلواني
It’s enough fidelity and sincerity for me
To show patience for betrayal or abstain from sin
أَراهُم بِعَينِ الشَوقِ فِي كُلِّ لَحظَةِ
فَلا البُعدُ أَنساني وَهُم وَسطَ إِنساني
I see them with the eyes of yearning every moment
Neither distance nor others come between us
مِثالُهُم فِي حَبّةِ القَلبِ ماثِلٌ
وَرَمتُ لِقاءً في العَيانِ فَأَعيانِي
Their image resides in a corner of my heart
Though when I meet them face-to-face they elude me
وَلِي مُهجَةٌ تَصبُو إِلى نَفَسِ الصِبا
فَلَو هَبَّ في الأَحيانِ مِنهُم لَأَحياني
And I have a passion that flows toward the morning breeze
If its breezes blow from them, they give me life
فَبِاللَهِ حَيِّ السَفحَ يا سافِحَ الحَيا
وَقِف بِالمَحاني وَقفَةَ المشفِقِ الحاني
So by the One who gives life to the valley slopes!
Stop by the campsites like a caring guardian
وَأَلحِف ثَراها في بِساطِ زَبَرجَدٍ
عَلَيهِ نُثارٌ مِن لُجَينٍ وَعِقيانِ
Pitch their tents on a carpet of emeralds
Strewn with pearls and peridot gems
لِيَختالَ ذاكَ القَصرُ في وَشيِ زَهرِهِ
كَما اِختالَ مَأمُونٌ عَلى فُرشِ بُورانِ
That the palace may shine gloriously in its blossoms
As al-Ma’mun shone surrounded by brocade
