وفى ليَ دمعي يوم بانوا بوعده

فأجريتُه حتى غرقتُ بمدّه

They were true to their promise one day when they left

So I let my tears flow until I drowned in their abundance

ولو لم يخالطه دمٌ غالَ لونَه

لما مال حادي العيس عن قَصدِ وِردِه

Had it not been for the blood that altered their color

The camel herder would not have strayed from the stream he sought

أأحبابنا هل ذلك العيش راجعٌ

بمقتبل غضّ الصبا مُستَجدِّهِ

Will our loved ones return to that life

In the prime of youth with its novelties?

زماناً قضيناه انتهاباً وكلنا

يجرُّ إلى اللذات فاضل بُردِه

We spent an age in anxiety and we all

Crave pleasures, shedding our cold indifference

دانّ على الماء بالذي ترِدونَه

غزالاً بجلد الماء رقة جلده

He stooped to the water you wished for

A gazelle whose skin is softer than the gentle water

يغار ضياء البدر من نور وجهه

ويخجل غصنُ البانِ من لين قَدِّه

The radiance of the full moon is dimmed by his face’s light

And the supple boughs of sweet basil are shamed by his graceful neck