أَلا ماذا يُريُبك مِن هُمومي

ومن نَبواتِ جنبي عن فراشِي

What doubts you of my worries,

And of the news of my side away from my bed?

وَلِي في كلّ شارقةٍ خليلٌ

أفارقُهُ بلا نَزَواتِ واشِ

For me in every dawn is a friend

I part with without yearnings and cravings

وَأَنزعُ وَصلَهُ بالرّغم منِّي

كَما نَزعتْ يدي عنّي رِياشي

And I take off his connection against my will

As my hand took off from me my pillow

إِلى كَم ذا التّتابعُ والتّمادي

وكم هذا التّصاممُ والتّغاشي

How long is this sequence and continuation

And how long is this persistence and contention

وَكم شَنِفٍ يُنكِّدُ لا يُحابِي

وصُمٍّ كالأراقم لا تُحاشي

And how many frowning faces make me gloomy, not smiling

And fasting like palms, unavoidable

يَكونُ بِها اِنحِطاطي وَاِرتِفاعي

وَمِن يدها اِنتكاسي واِرتِعاشي

Through it is my rise and fall

And from it is my setback and my shuddering

وَما هذا العكوفُ على حقيرٍ

يُساق إلى التحلّلِ والتّلاشي

And what is this focusing on the worthless

Led to dissolution and vanishing

فَضربٌ بالرّؤوسِ بلا نَجيعٍ

وطعنٌ في النّحورِ بلا رَشاشِ

So a hitting of heads without moaning

And a stabbing of throats without a slaughterer

تُشيك أخامصي منه خطوبٌ

إذا ما شِكْنَ يمنعنَ اِنتعاشي

My toes warn me of disasters

If they cramp, preventing my recovery

وَيفدِي واهناً فيه بنَدْبٍ

ويُسبِق راكباً ممّا يماشي

And it redeems the feeble with a slight limp

And precedes the rider faster than the walker

وَكَم أَنجى فتىً خاضَ المَنايا

وَأَرداهُ على ثَبَجِ الفراشِ

And how many a young man survived calamities

And returned him to the soft bed

فَيا متنَظِّراً مِنّي اِحتِراشاً

مَتى يَأتي عَلى يدك اِحتراشي

So you who wait for my inflammation

When will my inflammation come by your hand?

فُجِعتُ بُمشبعِ السَّغَباتِ جوداً

وناقعِ غُلَّةِ الهيمِ العِطاشِ

I was shocked by the satisfier of desires generously

And the assuager of the thirst of ardour thirstily

وَوهّابِ اللُّها في يومِ سلمٍ

وضرّابِ الكُلى يومَ الهِراش

And the bestower of blows on the day of peace

And the striker of kidneys on the day of skirmishing

تغلغلَ حبُّهُ في أُمِّ رأسي

وخاض ودادُه منّي مُشاشِي

His love penetrated the mother of my head

And his affection pierced my temples

وَأَفرَشني القَتَادَ أسىً عليهِ

فَليتَ لِغَيرِه كانَ اِفتِراشي

And he saddled me with sorrow over him

I wish it was for another my preparation

وَكنت عَلى الرّزايا ذا إِباءٍ

فَقَد قادتْ رزيّتُه خِشاشِي

And I faced tribulations with dignity

So my misery led my diminution

وَقلتُ لِمن لَحا سَفَهاً عليه

وراجٍ في الملامةِ مثلُ خاشِ

And I said to whoever sneered at him

And seeks blame like an arrowhead

تُعنِّفُنِي وَبالُك غيرُ بالي

وَتعذلِني وجأْشُك غيرُ جاشي

You reproach me while your mind is not my mind

And you condemn me while your temper is not my temper

وَلستُ سواه متّخذاً خليلاً

وَلا يغشى هواي سِواه غاشِ

And I have taken no friend but him

And no love possesses me but his possession

فَإنّي إِنْ فزعتُ إلى بَديلٍ

فزعتُ إلى الأُجاج من العِطاشِ

For if I seek an alternative

I seek the bitter from thirst

فَما لِي بعد فقدك طيبُ نفسٍ

وَلا جَذَل بِشيءٍ من معاشِي

So after losing you I have no pleasant soul

Nor any little life from my livelihood