أَجَبتُ وَقَد نادى الغَرامُ فَأَسمَعا

عَشِيَّةَ غَنّاني الحَمامُ فَرَجَّعا

I answered though love had called, so listen,

In the evening, the doves cooed to me, so return,

فَقُلتُ وَلي دَمعٌ تَرَقرَقَ فَاِنهَمى

يَسيلُ وَصَبرٌ قَد وَهى فَتَضَعضَعا

And I said, though I have tears flowing down, so be consoled,

They flow, and patience has weakened, so be shaken,

أَلا هَل إِلى أَرضِ الجَزيرَةِ أَوبَةٌ

فَأَسكُنَ أَنفاساً وَأَهدَأَ مَضجَعا

Oh! Is there no return to the land of Al-Jazirah,

Where I may rest my breath and calm my bed,

وَأَغدو بِواديها وَقَد نَضَحَ النَدى

مَعاطِفَ هاتيكَ الرُبى ثُمَّ أَقشَعا

And walk in its valley when the dew has wet

The mantles of those hills, then clear up,

أُغازِلُ فيها لِلغَزالَةِ سُنَّةً

تُحَطُّ الصَبا عَنها مِنَ الغَيمِ بُرقُعا

I would flirt with a gazelle, a tradition,

Whose youth the clouds uncover with pieces of rain,

وَقَد فَضَّ عِقدَ القَطرِ في كُلِّ تَلعَةٍ

نَسيمٌ تَمَشّى بَينَها فَتَضَوَّعا

And the rain pearls in every mound have unpacked,

A breeze walked among them, so intertwined,

وَباتَ سَقيطُ الطَلِّ يَضرِبُ سَرحَةً

تَرِفُّ بِواديها وَيَنضَحُ أَجرَعا

And the dripping of the hanging pearls kept striking a pasture,

Flowing in its valley, and the thickets overflowed,

وَأَينَ فِنا دارٍ إِلَيَّ حَبيبَةٍ

وَحَسبُكَ مُصطافاً هُناكَ وَمَربَعا

And where is the house of a beloved of mine,

And isn’t Al-Mustafa there enough for you as a square,

لَقَد تَرَكَتني بَينَ جَفنٍ جَفا الكَرى

وَجَنبٍ تَقَلّى لايُلائِمُ مَضجَعا

You left me with an eyelid worn out by insomnia,

And a side cracked from turning - no longer fitting for a bed,

أُقَلِّبُ طَرفي في السَماءِ لَعَلَّني

أَشيمُ سَنا بَرقٍ هُناكَ تَطَلَّعا

I toss my eyes about the sky, hoping

To smell a flash of lightning there, looking,