خَافَتْ مِنَ الرُّقَباءِ يَوْمَ وِدَاعِي

لَمَّا دَعَا بِنَوَى الأَحِبَّةِ دَاعِ

She was afraid of the spies when I bid her farewell,

When my desire called to bid the beloveds farewell.

قَامَتْ تُودِّعُنِي بِقَلْبٍ آمنٍ

مِمَّا أَجُنُّ وَنَاظِرٍ مُرْتاعِ

She stood to bid me farewell with a confident heart,

Safe from my suffering and a startled onlooker.

لِلَّه رَكْبٌ لَيْسَ عَهْدُ وِدَادِهمْ

عِنْدَ المُحِبِّ وَإنْ نأَى بِمُضَاعِ

A group whose friendship cannot be relied upon,

To a lover, even if they are brought near.

مَنَحُوا النَّواظِرَ بَهْجَةً وَملاحَةً

وَجَنَتْ حُداتُهُم عَلى الأَسْماعِ

They made the gazes happy and beautiful,

And their neighbors eavesdropped on the conversation.

بَانُوا فَغُصْنُ البانِ فَوْقَ هَوادِجٍ

وَسَروْا بِبَدْرِ التَّمِّ تَحْتَ قِنَاعِ

They appeared, so the appearer was above the valleys,

And they walked with a full moon under a veil.

كَمْ كَادَ يَقْضِي عَاشِقٌ لِفُرَاقِهِمْ

لَوْلَا الرَّجَا وَتَعَلُّقِ الأَطْمَاعِ

How close a lover came to dying from their separation,

If not for hope and clinging to ambitions.

أَعذُولُ مِنْ عَلق الهَوَى بِي عَادةٌ

فَلَقَدْ أُمِرْتُ بِأَمْرِ غَيْرِ مُطَاعِ

I am accustomed to being detached from the bonds of love,

For I was commanded with an order that cannot be disobeyed.

أَوَ مَا كَفَاهُ نِزَاعُهُ مِمَّا بِهِ

فَأَتَيْتَهُ مِنْ عَذْلِهِ بِنَزَاعِ

Or did not his dispute over what you came to him with,

From his detachment, suffice with dispute?