مَلكْتُمُوا فَاعْدلُوا في الصَبِّ أَوْ جُوروا

ذنبُ الأحبّةِ في العُشّاقِ مغفورً

You have ruled, so be just in passion or unjust

The sins of loved ones are forgiven in lovers

وقد تقرّرَ في قلبي مَقرُّكُم

دونَ الورى فأقيموا فيه أو سيروا

And your abode in my heart has been decided

Beyond the world, so stay in it or move on

يا مُخْربي رَبْع صَبري بالجفا عَبثَاً

الحمدُ لله رَبْعُ الودّ مَعْمورُ

O you who have destroyed a quarter of my patience in vain

Praise be to God, a quarter of affection remains intact

ويا مطوّلَ هجراني بلا سَببٍ

أما بدا لكَ في التَّطْويلِ تقصيرُ

O you who have prolonged estrangement without cause

Does it not seem to you shortened in prolonging?

ومُنكراً ما أُلاقي في مَحبّتِه

حُبّي كطَرفِكَ بين النّاسِ مَشْهورُ

And denying what I face in his love

My love for you among people is well known

أَنّا الكثيبُ المعنَّى في هواك وإنْ

أظهرتُ أني بما ألقاهُ مَسْرورُ

I am truthful in my passion for you, even if

Outwardly I pretend to be happy with what has transpired

ألاَ خلاصٌ لِقَلْبِي مِن صَبابتِهِ

فإِنَّه في تعاطي الحُبِّ مَغْروراً

Alas, my heart cannot be saved from its youthful folly

For it is vain in the pursuit of love

كم ذا أُكابدُ ما لَوْ مَرَّ أَيْسَرُهُ

بالطُّورِ دُكَّ لَهُ مِن ثقْلِه الطُّورُ

How much I suffer, which if its least

Had befallen Tur, Tur would have collapsed under its weight

وكم أرَى طاوياً كَشْحي عَلى شجَنٍ

ونارُ شوقٍ لَها في القَلبِ تَسعيرُ

And how much I see my patience folded over agony

While the fire of longing rages within my heart

وكم أراقب ساري الطَّيفِ يطرقني

وإِنّما الطّيفُ تَخْييلٌ وتَزْويرُ

And how much I watch the phantom of his apparition visiting me

When in fact it is but imaginary and false

يا لَلْحِمى كم على واديةِ طلّ دمٌ

وكم فُؤاد محبٍّ ثَمَّ مأْسورُ

Oh my fever! How much blood is shed in the valley of yearning

And how many a lover's heart is then imprisoned

وبي مَليك جمالٍ سيفُ مُقلتِهِ

مُظفرٌ بقلوب النّاسِ منصورُ

And I have a king of beauty whose sharp sword

Is victorious over people's hearts, triumphant

نبيُّ حُسْنٍ له من روضِ وجنَتِه

جنّات عَدْنٍ ومن ألحاظِهِ حُورُ

A prophet of beauty, for him from his meadows and gardens

Are paradises of Eden, and from his glances, maidens