سَلامٌ أَبا بَكرٍ عَلَيكَ وَرَحمَةٌ
تَحِيَّةَ صِدقٍ مِن أَخٍ لَكَ مُختَصِّ
Greetings Abu Bakr, peace and mercy upon you
A sincere greeting from a brother devoted to you
لَعَمري وَما أَدري بِصَدعِ زُجاجِه
عَلَيكَ فَقَد تُدني اللَيالي كَما تُقصي
By my life, I know not of the fracture of its glass
The nights draw near to you as they pass
لَقَد بانَ عَنّي يَومَ وَدَّعتَ صاحِبٌ
بَريءُ أَساليبِ الوِدادِ مِنَ النَقصِ
A companion who bid me farewell was certainly revealed
Innocent of affection's ways and devoid of any flaw
أَقولُ لِنَفسي حينَ طارَت بِكَ النَوى
أَخوك فَريشي مِن جَناحِكِ أَو قُصّي
I say to myself when intentions carried you afar
Is your brother a young bird separated from your wing or plucked
فَباتَت عَلى ظَهرِ النُزوعِ إِلَيكُمُ
تَطيرُ بِما في الوَكرِ أَجنِحَةُ الحِرصِ
Thus there remained a propensity to fly to you
The wings of yearning taking flight from the nest
إِلى كَم أَبا بَكرٍ نَحومُ بِأَنفُسٍ
ظماءٍ إِلى عَهدِ الأُجَيرِعِ أَو حِمصِ
To what end, Abu Bakr, do we pine with famished souls
Thirsty for the days of fresh figs or chickpeas
كَأَن لَم تَرَ تِلكَ الربى وَكَأَنَّها
عَرائِسُ تَرعاها المَواشيطُ لا نَصِّ
As though you’d never seen that land, as if
It were brides tended by the Pleiades, no less
وَلا رَنَّقَت تِلكَ الأَراكَةُ فَوقَنا
بلوث إِزارِ الظِلِّ في كَفَلِ الدعصِ
Nor did that canopy hover over us
Soiling the skirt of shade in the nook of the headrest
وَكانَ لَنا فيها هُناكَ مَآرِبٌ
نُطيعُ الهَوى العُذرِيَّ فيها وَلا نَعصي
And we had affairs therein
Heeding whimsical desire, never to transgress
لَيالينا بِالريِّ وَالعَيشُ صالِحٌ
وَظِلُّكَ عَنها غَيرُ مُنتَقِلِ الشَخصِ
Our nights full of comfort and wholesome living
Your shade not transferred from that place
وَما ذِكرُها لَولا شَفاً مِن عَلاقَة
تَتَبَّعُها نَفسي تَتَبُّعَ مُستَقصي
And I would not recall it save to heal
A connection which my soul pursues to reassess
وَدَدت أَبا بَكرٍ لَوَ اَنِّيَ عالِمٌ
وَلِلكَونِ زَندٌ لَيسَ يُقدَحُ بِالحِرصِ
I wish, Abu Bakr, that I was knowledgeable
And the universe a gown not defined by stitches
هَلِ الغَيبُ يَوماً مُفرِجاً لي بابَهُ
فَاُنظُرَ مِنهُ كَيفَ أُنسُكَ في حمصِ
Will the unknown one day open its door to me
That I may look through and see you in Homs
بِأَزرَقَ سَلّالِ الحُسامِ وَقَد بَدا
يُداعِبُ في كَأسٍ تَحَرَّكُ لِلرَّقصِ
With the blue brass swords and as they appeared
Frolicking in a cup stirred by the dance
وَما معصَمٌ رَيّانُ دارَ سِوارُهُ
عَلى مِثلِ ماءِ الدُرِّ في بَشَرٍ رَخصِ
What fair-skinned wine loosened Sirwar’s bracelet
Like pearls in a chalice sold cheap
بِأَسمَحَ مِنهُ في العُيونِ إِذا بَدا
وَلا سيما وَالشَمسُ جانِحَةُ القرصِ
More beautiful than it in the eyes when glimpsed
Especially as the grazing sun edges the disk
خَليجٌ كَخَيطِ الفَجرِ تَنجَرُّ فَوقَهُ
ذُيولُ عَشِيّاتٍ مُزَخرَفَةُ القمصِ
A gulf like the dawn’s thread hovering over it
The trains of ornamented nights flow
