يا نازحاً وله فؤادي مَنْزِلُ

ومفارقاً وبه الفؤادُ موكّلُ

O one who has departed yet my heart remains your dwelling

And though you're gone, my heart is still devoted to you

ومقاسماً لي في الحياة وأنّه

ليشحُّ عني بالخيالِ ويبخل

You were my life's companion, yet now in your absence

My imagination of you has faded and grown stingy

عَلّلتُ قلبي مذ بَعُدتَ فلم أحد

عوضاً ولا شيْئاً به أتعلل

Since you left, I've blamed my heart, yet found no substitute

Nor anything that could console my blame

وكتمتُ حُبَّك أن يذيع فنمَّ بي

دمعٌ يكفكف بالرذاذ ويهمِلُ

I've kept my love for you secret, so my tears must silently

Trickle down and go neglected

أعجبتَ لمّا إنْ رأيتَ غرامَنا

بكل والمليح بما به يتدلل

If you're surprised that our passion still persists

The beautiful are indulged for their beauty

ورأيتُ قدَّكَ من قضيب مائس

في رامح فعملتَ ما لا يُعملِ

I've seen your slender waist as a willow branch

Bending gracefully beneath the weight it holds

خُفّفْتَ خصراً إذ ثقلتَ روادفاً

والحْسنُ أقتله الخفيفُ المثقلُ

Your light step belies the heaviness you bear

For true beauty is enhanced by graceful contrasts

كم لي ببغداد ودجلة من هوى

عنه ارتحلتُ وحُبُّه لا يَرْحَلُ

How much of Baghdad and the Tigris I still love

Though from them I departed, their love won't leave me

ما كان عن رأيي الفراق وإنّما

للدهر أيامٌ تجور وتعدل

It wasn't my choice to part from you, but time

Brings days that alternate between justice and tyranny