مَريضِيَ بي إِن عُدتُهُ لِيَ عائِدٌ

وَعائِدُهُ خَوفاً عَلَيهِ مَريضُ

My beloved, if his absence returns to me,

Its return is out of fear for him, my beloved.

أَلا إِنَّ عُذرَ السُهدِ في العَينِ واضِحٌ

لَدَيَّ وَفي أَمرِ المَنامِ غُموضُ

Behold, the excuse of wakefulness is evident to me

In my eye, while the matter of sleep is ambiguous.

وَبي مَرَضٌ ما الوَصفُ فيهِ بِمُنهِضي

وَلا لِقُوى صَبري عَلَيهِ نُهوضُ

And I have an illness which no description of it invigorates me,

Nor does my patience have the strength to stand against it.

يُقَوّيهِ ضَعفٌ لِلحَبيبِ مُضاعَفٌ

وَيُعلِنُهُ صَوتُ الأَنينِ خَفيضُ

It is strengthened by a weakness for the beloved which is multiplied,

And its muted groans proclaim it.

أَما وَفُؤادي إِنَّهُ مِنكَ طائِرٌ

لَما كانَ حَزماً أَن يَطيرَ مَهيضُ

As for my heart, it flies because of you,

Since it was never apt to fly at first.

وَما عُدتُ إِلّا عِلَّتي بِلِقائِهِ

وَإِن غَضَّ طَرفي الطَرفَ وَهوَ غَضيضُ

I have returned only because of my illness over meeting him,

Even if he looks at me askance with contracting eyes.

وَعِندِيَ لِلأَيّامُ فيكَ قَوارِصُ

أَبى عِندَها مِن أَن يَضيعَ قَريضُ

To me the days have talons in you,

With them no verse would be lost.

سَتَبيَضُّ أَيّامي بِصِحَّةِ بَدرِها

وَأَيّامُ إِتمامِ الأَهِلَّةِ بيضُ

My days will be whitened by the full moon of their health,

And the days of completing the crescent moon, whitened.

وَتَحتَ وِكاءِ الصَبرِ أَيَّةُ عَبرَةٍ

وَلَكِن تَفيضُ النَفسُ قَبلَ تَفيضُ

And beneath the shelter of patience, what lesson?

But the soul overflows before it overflows.

إِذا رُحَضاءُ الداءِ جَلَّلَ جِسمَهُ

فَإِنَّ لِباسَ العُمرِ مِنكَ رَحيضُ

When the pounding of the pain clothes his body,

The garb of life depends on you to patch it.