ما كان أَغناكَ يا قَلبي عَن القَلَقِ

وَعَن خفوقك يا مَظلوم وَالحرقِ

My heart, your unease and throbbing could not console you,

Nor my eyes, from looking at what afflicted you with tears and insomnia.

ما كانَ أَغناكَ يا عَيني عَن النَظَرِ

عَما اِبتَلاكِ بِهَذا الدَمع وَالأَرَق

Malik was ashamed when I said to him,

"Do you see my angry, embracing beloved?"

أَخجَلت مالك رَقي حينَ قُلت لَهُ

تَرى أَري هاجِري الغَضبان مُعتَنِقي

"My lord, I know my virtue,

For chastity and protection are part of my manners."

وَسَيدي بي أَدرى ما حكت شيمي

إِن العَفاف وَإِن الصَون مِن خُلُقي

He blushed with shyness and his cheeks turned red,

His sweat appeared like strung pearls,

فَراحَ يَندى حَياءً وَرَد وَجنَتِهِ

وَأَطلعت عرقاً كَاللُؤلوءِ النَسق

And his veins reddened on his face out of shyness,

So my tears flowed like pouring rain.

وَدَبَّ تَوريدها في وَجهِهِ خَجَلاً

فَراحَ دَمعِيَ مثل العارض الغَدق

O you who saw the dawn break through the horizon,

Not covered by the darkness of the temples,

يا مَن رَأى شَفَقاً يَبدو مِن الفَلَق

وَلا يغطى مِن الأَصداغ بِالغَسَق

And who reproached me, but when he saw

The stream of tears, he pitied me for fear of drowning.

وَعاذل كُلُ يَلحاني فَحينَ رَأَى

فَيض الدُموع ارعوى مِن خِشية الغَرَق

Perhaps you, the enchanter of eyelids and pupils,

Will mourn me and catch my last breath.

عَساكَ يا ساحر الأَجفان وَالحدق

تَرثي فَتُدرك مني آخر الرَمَق

I am a stranger, even if I spend the night in my homeland,

For my estrangement is like the isolation of a mole on the neck.

أَنا الغَريب وَلَو أَمسَيتُ في وَطَني

فَغُربَتي كَاِغتِراب الخال في العُنق

The doctor was confused by my illness, just as

My eyes were confused between magic and pupils.

قَد حارَ في عِلَتي عَقل الطَبيب كَما

قَد حارَ طَرفيَ بَينَ السحر وَالحَدَق

I fear pigeons, because if

Longing kills me, I won’t see you, and that I don’t fear separation.

أَخشى الحمام لِأَني لا أَراكِ إِذا

أَماتَني الشَوق لا أَخشاهُ مِن فَرق