خَليلَيَّ قَد اَبصَرتُ عَيشِيَ بَعدَهُ

كَأَنّي قَد أَبصَرتُ عَيشِيَ مِن بَعدي

My beloved, I now see that my life after you

Is as though I see my life after me.

وَقَد كُنتُ أَشكو البُعدَ وَالقُربُ يُرتَجى

فَكَيفَ أَكونُ اليَومَ في اليَأسِ وَالبُعدِ

I used to complain of distance, though nearness was hoped for.

How can I be today in despair and distance?

وَكانَ أَجَلُّ الخَطبِ عِندِيَ صَدُّهُ

فَمَن لي وَطوبى لَو رَجَعتُ إِلى الصَدِّ

The gravest thing to me was his aloofness.

Who now remains for me, would that I return to aloofness!

إِذا ما فَقَدتَ الأُنسَ مِمَّن تُحِبُّهُ

فَنَفسُكَ لا المَحبوبُ أَفجَعُ بِالفَقدِ

When you lose the intimacy of one whom you love,

It is yourself, not the beloved, that keenly feels the loss.

فَنيتُ أَسىً لمّا بَقيتَ مَكارِماً

فَأَصبَحتَ في دارٍ وَأَصبَحتُ في لَحدِ

I perished from grief when you remained virtuous.

So you came to live in a house, and I in a grave.

لَيَهنِكَ مِن بَعدِ الرَدى باقي الثَنا

وَإِن كُنتَ مِن تَحتِ الثَرى بالِيَ البُردِ

May your life after destruction remain, though you are

Under the earth, subject to chill rot.