حَسبي جَوىً إِن ضاقَ بي أَمري

ذِكري لِرَحمٍ وَهيَ لا تَدري

My tears are enough if my situation is dire

It is burning grief enough for me, when my plight grows severe, that I remember her while she remains unaware,

My memory of a merciful one who knows not

And I dread disclosing the love I bear, lest her guardian's jealousy flare and his tyranny spread,

وَأَخافُ أَن أُبدي مَوَدَّتَها

فَيَغارُ مَولاها وَيَستَشري

And I fear revealing my affection

For then I would be the cause of our severing, and would have heaped, by my own striving, a burden on my back,

Lest her lover becomes jealous and suspicious

I am blamed for her love by a crowd who are empty of my anguish and untouched by my pain,

فَأَكونُ قَد سَبَّبتُ فُرقَتَنا

وَحَطَطتُ مُجتَهِداً عَلى ظَهري

Thus I would have caused our separation

They knew not the truth of passion, so they scolded; had they tasted it, my excuse would have been clear to them,

And undermined my efforts so diligently

For I truly detest the one who bears patiently with his beloved, whether in union or in desertion,

وَيَلومُني في حُبِّها نَفَرٌ

خالونَ مِن شَجوي وَمِن ضُرّي

And a group would blame me for loving her

Patience is beautiful in its proper places, but what has the yearning lover to do with patience?

They know not my burning passion and my agony

لَم يَعرِفوا حَقَّ الهَوى فَلَحوا

لَو جَرَّبوهُ تَبَيَّنوا عُذري

They know not the truth of love, so they succeeded

Had they experienced it, they'd see my excuse

إِنّي لَأَبغِضُ كُلَّ مُصطَبِرٍ

عَن إِلفِهِ في الوَصلِ وَالهَجرِ

I do hate all those patient

With their affection, in union or separation

الصَبرُ يَحسُنُ في مَواضِعِهِ

ما لِلفَتى المُشتاقِ وَالصَبرِ

Patience is seemly in its proper places

Not for the longing lover - what's patience to him?