قِفَا حَدِّثَانِي عَنْ مَغَانٍ وَأَرْبُعِ

بِجِزْعِ النَّقَا بَيْنَ الْهِضَابِ فَأَنْقُعِ

Stop, you two, and tell me of the abodes and spring encampments,

By the bend of the sand dune, between the hills and the lowland waters,

فَبَانَةِ جَرْعَاءِ الْحِمَى فَظِبَائِهِ

فَآرَامِهِ اللاَّتِي رَتَعْنَ بِأضْلُعِي

And of the Ban tree in the sandy sanctuary, and its gazelles,

And its white antelopes that have grazed within my ribs,

وَعَنْ ذِي حَبَابٍ بِالرِّيَاضِ مُسَلْسَلٍ

يَسِيعُ كَمَا انْسَابَ الْحُبَابُ بِأَجْرُعِ

And of the rippling, bubbling stream in the meadows,

Gliding along just as a serpent slithers across the sandy tracts,

فَشَبِّهْ بِهِ وَالشَّمْسُ رَاقَ أَصِيلُهَا

جُمَاناً عَلَى سَيْفٍ بِتِبْرٍ مُلَفَّعِ

Compare it, when the late afternoon sun shines pure and clear,

To silver pearls scattered upon a sword wrapped in gold dust.

سَقَى مَرْتَعَ الأَحْبَابَ دِيمَةُ وَاكِفٍ

وَهَلْ غَيْرُ أَوْطَانِ الأَحِبَّةِ مَرْتَعِي

May a continuous, pouring rain water the roaming grounds of the beloveds,

For is there any roaming ground for me other than the homelands of the beloveds?

وَإِنِّي وَإِنْ أَمْسَيْتُ فِي فَاسَ ثَاوِياً

لِتِطْوَانَ آمَالِي وَفِيهَا تَوَلُّعِي

And indeed, even if I have come to dwell in Fez in the evening of my life,

My hopes belong to Tetouan, and in it lies my deepest passion.

دِيَارٌ أنَاخَ الْحُسْنُ فِي عَرَصَاتِهَا

وَأَرْخَى عَلَى أَرْجَائِهَا كُلُّ بُرْقُعِ

Abodes where beauty has made its mount kneel in their courtyards,

And draped every exquisite veil over their surroundings.

إِذَا نَفَحَتْ مِنْ جَانِبِ الْجَوْفِ نَفْحَةٌ

تَسِيحُ عَلَى خَدِّي مَذَانِبُ مَدْمَعِي

Whenever a fragrant breeze blows from the direction of the valley,

The streams of my tears flow down upon my cheek,

حَنِيناً إِلَى تِلْكَ الْبَطَائِحِ وَالرُّبَى

وَشَوْقاً إِلَى ذَاكَ الْجَمَالِ الْمُرَفَّعِ

Yearning for those wide plains and the rolling hills,

And longing for that exalted beauty.

رَعَى اللهُ أَحْبَاباً بِتِطْوَانَ كُلَّمَا

ذَكَرْتُهُمُ اهْتَاجَتْ شَعَائِلُ أَضْلُعِي

May God protect the beloveds in Tetouan; whenever

I remember them, the flames within my ribs flare up.

أَأَحْبَابَنَا فِيهَا هَلِ الدَّهْرُ سَامِحٌ

بِلُقْيَاكُمُ قَبْلَ الْحُلُولِ بِشَرْجَعِ

O our beloveds therein, will fate ever be generous enough

To allow me to meet you before I am laid in a coffin?

وَهَلْ لِي فِي الْكِيتَانِ نُزْهَةُ وَامِقٍ

عَسَى أَشْتَفِي مِنْ لَوْعَتِي وَتَفَجُّعِي

And will I ever have a lover's stroll in Al-Kitan,

That I might find a cure for my anguish and my sorrow?

فَيَا نَهْرَ الْكِيتَانِ جَادَتْكَ دِيمَةٌ

مِنَ الْوَابِلِ الْهَتَّانِ غَيْرِ مُصَدَّعِ

O River of Al-Kitan, may a continuous rain bless you,

From a heavy, unceasing downpour that brings no ruin.

وَيَا مَنْزِلَ الأَحْبَابِ لاَ زِلْتَ آهِلاً

بِأَهْلِ الْعُلاَ تَزْهُو بِكُلِّ سَمَيْدَعِ

And O abode of the beloveds, may you forever remain populated

With people of high nobility, shining with every courageous chief.

وَيَا جُمْلَةَ الأَحْبَابِ مِنِّي عَلَيْكُمُ

سَلاَمٌ كَأَنْفَاسِ الْعَبِيرِ الْمُشَعْشَعِ

And to all the beloveds together, from me to you

Are greetings like the breaths of diffused, radiant perfume.

لَئِنْ فَرَّقَ الدَّهْرُ الْمُشِتُّ انْتِظَامَنَا

بِلِينٍ فَمَا وَجْدِي عَلَيْكُمْ بِصَعْصَعِ

Even if scattering fate has torn apart our orderly gathering

So easily, yet my passion for you remains unscattered.

إِلَى اللهِ أَشْكُو مَا أُعَانِيهِ مِنْ أَسىً

أَعَانَ عَلَى قَلْبِي النَّوَى كُلَّ شِبْدَعِ

To God I complain of the sorrow I suffer,

Wherein separation has aided every stinging calamity against my heart.

شَكِعْتُ بِلَيْلِ الْهَمِّ حَتَّى تَقَرَّحَتْ

مَآقِي وَأَجْفَانِي لِطُولِ تَوَجُّعِي

I have suffered in the night of sorrow until they became sore—

My tear ducts and my eyelids, from the prolonged agony.

وَضَعْضَاعُ جِسْمِي ضَعْضَعَتْهُ بَلاَبِلِي

وَشَوْقِي إِلَيْكُمْ ثَابِتٌ لَمْ يُضَعْضَعِ

The frailty of my body has been further broken by my anxieties,

Yet my longing for you remains steadfast and unbroken.

وَحِرْصِي عَلَى أَخْبَارِكُمْ مُتَزَايِدٌ

وَلَسْتُ عَلَى شَيْءٍ سِوَاكُمْ بِهَوْدَعِ

My eagerness for news of you is ever-increasing,

And I am not diverted by anything other than you.

سَأَبْكِي لِشَعْشَاعِ الْوِصَالِ الذِي هَوَتْ

مَطَالِعُهُ أَوْ يَنْزِفُ الْوَجْدُ أَدْمُعِي

I shall weep for the radiant light of our union, whose rising stars

Have fallen, until passion drains the last of my tears.

وَأَصْبُو إِلَى أَهْلِ الصَّفَا كُلَّمَا هَفَا

نَسِيمُ الرُّبَى فِي نَفْحَةٍ وَتَضَوُّعِ

And I yearn for the people of purity whenever

The breeze of the hills blows in a fragrant, diffusing gust.

إِلَى حَيْثُ مُاءُ الْمَكْرُمَاتِ مُسَلْسَلٌ

وَنَهْرُ النَّدَى فِي جَرْيَةٍ وَتَصَيُّعِ

To where the water of noble deeds flows in endless ripples,

And the river of generosity runs and meanders.

وَرَوْضُ الْمُنَى فِي عَطْفَةٍ وَتَهَدُّلٍ

إِلَى حَيْثُ دُرُّ النَّظْمِ غَيْرُ مُضَيَّعِ

And the garden of hopes bends with heavy, drooping branches,

To where the pearls of poetry are never wasted or lost.

وَحَيْثُ أَبُو يَعْقُوبً بَحْرُ بَلاَغَةٍ

لَهُ لُجَجٌ يَشْتَاقُهَا كُلُّ مَنْقَعِ

And where Abu Ya'qub is a boundless sea of eloquence,

With deep waves longed for by every thirsty lowland.

هُمَامٌ بِهِ تِطْوَانُ زَادَتْ مَحَاسِناً

وَلِمْ لاَ وَقَدْ أَرْبَى عَلَى كُلِّ مِصْطَعِ

A noble hero through whom Tetouan has increased in beauty,

And why not, when he has surpassed every eloquent orator?

فَلاَ زَالَ فِي أُفْقِ الْبَلاَغَةِ كَوْكَباً

يُصِيبُ بِشُهْبِ الشِّعْرِ كُلَّ هَمَلَّعِ

May he forever remain a brilliant star on the horizon of eloquence,

Striking every prowling rival with the blazing meteors of poetry.

عَلَيْهِ سَلاَمُ اللهِ مَا قَالَ نَازِحٌ

قِفَا حَدِّثَانِي عَنْ مَعَانٍ وَأَرْبُعِ

Upon him be the peace of God, as long as an exiled wanderer says:

Stop, you two, and tell me of meanings and spring encampments.