مَنْ رأى لي في الدّجى ذا خَطَلٍ

أقْدَمَ الأشواقَ لمّا قَدِما

When I saw someone approach me in the dark,

My longing quickened its pace to meet him.

لاح منه طَرَفٌ ذو مَلَّةٍ

لم ينرْ في الأفق حتّى اِلتَأَما

A glance shone from him, inclined with grace,

Before it vanished into the horizon's seam.

كلّما قلتُ أتى ولَّى وإنْ

ضاء لِي شيئاً قليلاً أظلما

Whenever I spoke he came and went away,

Though he shed some dim light, it darkened my day.

خِلتُه مُقتَبِساً ذا عجلٍ

أو فماً من عَجَبٍ مُبتَسِما

I imagined him hurrying, aflame and awake,

Or with a look of wonder, smiling in his gait,

أَو جَباناً هابَ من إقدامِه

أو لساناً عن مقالٍ جَمْجَما

Or a coward, recoiling from his daring,

Or with a tongue that stammered over sharing,

أَوْ تَقيّاً وَرِعاً ذا عِفَّةٍ

كُلّما همَّ بِذَنبٍ نَدِما

Or virtuous and devout, of modesty full,

Whenever he thought of sin, regretting in pull,

أوْ حُساماً ردّه مَنْ سَلَّهُ

أو فتىً أفْصحَ ثمّ اِستعجما

Or a sword he once wielded, now turned away,

Or an eloquent youth, grown inarticulate today.

فهو النّاكصُ عن زَوْرَتِهِ

وهو الرّاجع عمّا غرما

He’s the one who deserted his own lies,

And turned back from all he owed in his eyes.

عَصْفَرَ الأفقَ فقلنا إنّه

أمْطَر الجوَّ عن الأرضِ دما

The horizon yellowed, so we said: “Look!

The sky is raining blood upon the earth.”

كانَ سُقمي قَد مضى من جسدي

فأزار البرق جسمي السَّقَما

My sickness had left my body,

So lightning adorned my frame, no longer sickly.