رأى الطرف اطلال الحمى فتنشطا

فؤاد عليه البين والهفي سطا

The eyes saw the ruins of a dwelling and became active,

My heart longed for separation and sighed.

خليلي ما للحي من آل عامر

اطالوا سهادي آه لو ترك القطا

O my friend, the tribe of Aamer,

Prolonged my insomnia, oh if only the caravan had halted!

بعيشكما جوزا بكلي الى الحما

فعل بعيد البعد ان يكشف الغطا

In your survival, good fortune paired with misfortune befell me.

It is farfetched that the covering would be removed after being distant.

وعل الفجاج النائيات بحيهم

ولو خطأ منها تقربنا الخطا

The distant, desolate places became populated with their settlements,

If they made a mistake in getting close, we made two mistakes.

عجبت لقلبي وهو يعرف طورهم

على أي راي في هواهم تورطا

I was surprised at my heart while it knew their ways,

By what opinion was it engulfed in passion for them?

هوى فج من قلبي فجاج لبابه

وخيم في ارجائها فتوسطا

An intense love sprang from my heart, raging at its doorway,

And became entrenched in its corners, so it took the middle way.

عذيري من قلب طوى الحب عالما

باحكامه حتى استهام وافرطا

My excuse, from a heart that folded up love knowingly,

Obeying its rulings, even if defiant and reckless.

يثور اذا سارت جنائب من بهم

توله يتلوها ولم يعرف البطا

It rages whenever the winds blow from the direction of those it loves,

Swaying it, though it knew no submission or humility.

اعيدا خليلي الركاب لحاجر

عسى القلب ان يلوى لسلع ويغلطا

Return, my friend, the riders to the camping ground,

Perhaps the heart will bend to peace and be mistaken.

لينسى بأيام البعاد وبالنوى

وادوارها من ركبهم متنه امتطى

To forget the days of separation and intention,

And their cycles, from their riding beasts it mounted.

فيسكنه النسيان او يطرح الهوى

ليحسد بين الوالهين ويغبطا

So forgetfulness will pacify it or love will recease,

To envy, between the enamored and the envied, and begrudge.

ورب نزال بالأجيع شخص

نامت حبات القلوب نلقطا

And many a companion at night, whose personality

put the seeds of hearts to sleep, we picked.

اعاد دواعي الحب للقلب مذ رنا

ومر بعطري الرياض مقرطا

Love’s excuses returned to the heart when we stopped over,

And passed by the scent of gardens adorned.

الا قاتل الله الهوى وشؤُنه

ظلوما لاهليه تراه ومقسطا

Damn this love and its ways,

Unjustly treating those who love it, yet it acts justly.

يبيتون والنيران تلفح بالاذى

جوانحهم فهي الغطاء بل الوطا

They sleep while the fires scorch painfully,

Their breasts, which are its cover, nay its bed.

دع الحب يا من لا يطيق عراكه

فان اقتحام المستيحل من الخطا

Leave this love, O you who cannot withstand its strife,

For breaching the impregnable is an error.

وان شريف الحب ما كان راجعا

لبر كريم شأنه المن والعطا

The noble love is not that which returns

To virtuous kindness, its affair is grant and gift.