يقولونَ لي ما بالُ لونِك شاحباً

فقلتُ لهم إن الحبيبَ سَلاني

They ask me, why is your color so pale?

I said to them, it's because my beloved reproached me.

تسليتُ عن حيٍّ بدا لي بعادهم

وفارقتُهم بالكُره مُنذ زَمانِ

I consoled myself for one alive by their absence,

And I had come to dislike them for a long time.

ولكنّه لما أتاني كتابُهم

وجدّد لي تذكارَهم فَشَجَاني

But when their letter came to me,

And renewed for me the memory of them, it made me ache.

وذكّرني عهداً مضَى بوصالهم

فصيرَ قلبي دائم الخَفَقَانِ

And reminded me of a time passed in their company,

So my heart now beats constantly.

عليك سلامى ما همَي واكفُ الحيا

وما دارتِ الأفلاك بالمَلَوَانِ

My greetings be upon you, as long as I and the stars revolve,

And as long as the planets turn in their orbits.