نَحْسُ حلاجٍ تَلَظّى في دَمي

وَبَناتُ الصَّدْرِ أذْكَتْ ألَمي

The ill fate of a despairing dreamer festered in my blood,

And the daughters of my heart ignited my pain.

هَدّني التِّيهُ وجافاني الكَرى

وَبَراني ذاتَ ويلٍ سَقَمي

Wandering misled me and time abandoned me,

And a woeful affliction exposed my frailty.

قَدْ رَمَتْني الرّيحُ مَثْلومَ المُنى

عدمًا يسعى وراءَ العَدَمِ

The wind has flung me, disappointed in my wishes,

A nothingness seeking after more nothingness.

لهفَ قلبي سَيْفُ كَرْبي قَدّني

جُرْحُ طيني نازِفٌ لَمْ يَنَمِ

My heart's longing is a sword of sorrows that guided me,

My clay's wound still bleeding has not slept.

تَنْزوي في الصّرْدِ روحي كُلّما

عَصَف البَيْنُ وَزَلّت قَدَمي

My soul withdraws into seclusion whenever

Separation storms and my steps falter.

نازعَتْني ذِكْرياتٌ قدْ رَمَتْـ

ــني سَوادا في أتونِ الحِمَمِ

Memories assaulted me and flung

Me into the furnace of anxieties dark.

وَغَزَتْ أرْتالُ بَرْدٍ حَوْزَتي

وسرَتْ سُمًّا بجوفِ الدّسَمِ

And a flood of cold shackled my self,

And poison crept through my body's crevices.

كُلّما يمَّمْتُ دَرْبًا تاهَ بي

واقتفاني مُشْعِلا بي سَأمي

Whenever I ventured down a path I lost my way

And my own boredom hunted me.

بُحْتُ لليْلِ بِسِرّي فانْبَرى

مِنْ دَياجيرهِ لَوْمُ اللوَّمِ

I confided in the night my secret but

Only blame came from its unclear depths.

شَرِب النايُ أنيْني واكْتَوى

وبكى البَوْحُ بِصَدْرِ الكَلِمِ

The flute drank in my moan and was sated,

And weeping flowed from the heart of this word.

دُلَّني يا ليلُ أشْقاني النّوى

ورَماني في أوانٍ دَهِمِ

Guide me, O night that distressed my wishes

And flung me into a time of utter gloom.

ظَبْيَةٌ حَفّتْ بِروحي كالرّؤى

وَسَبَتْني نَحْوَ هامِ الأكَمِ

An illusion encircled my soul like a vision

And drew me towards the valley of sorrows.

كَفْكَفَتْ دَمْعي وأقْصَتْ شَجَني

غِبْطَةٌ داوَتْ طِعانَ النّدمِ

It staunched my tears and ended my passion—

A happiness that healed the wounds of regret.

هاطِلُ السّعدِ طِلالاً خَصّني

مِنْ شَهيّاتِ النّدى في الدِّيَمِ

The rain of good fortune neglected me,

Leaving me craving the dew's delicacies.

سدَلَ الهَدْأةَ أمْهى خاطِري

وسقاني مِنْ نَميرٍ مُنعَمِ

Tranquility lowered the most confused of my thoughts

And gave me to drink from a gentle spring.

ذا رخيمُ الصَّوت قُمْرِيّا أتى

وسقى السَّمْعَ غَريدُ النّغمِ

The soft-voiced moon came round

And refreshed my hearing with melody.

فاسْتفاقَ القَلْبُ، وَلَّى كَدَري

صنوُ روحي صـــارَ مِني تَوْأمي

So my heart awoke, dispelling my gloom—

My spirit's companion was made my twin.