برقٌ على الجِزعِ بدا يلمعُ

حَنَّتْ اليهِ الاِبِلُ الضُّلَّعُ

Lightning flashed on the slender tree trunk

The she-camels turned towards it, the starvelings

أومضَ والركبُ نشاوى هوًى

فاندفعتْ أعينُهمْ تَدمَعُ

It flashed and the travelers hastened, crazed

Their eyes overflowed with tears

بَكَوا مِنَ الوجدِ على جيرةٍ

ساروا عنِ الخَيْفِ وما ودَّعوا

They wept from yearning for a neighbor

They traveled from fear and did not bid farewell

اَسْرَوا مِنَ الخَيْفِ إلى لَعْلَعٍ

ولم تَزَلْ دارَ الهوى لَعْلَعُ

They hastened from fear to Lu'lu'

And the abode of passion remained Lu'lu'

يا برقُ كم هجتَ لهم من جوًى

باتتْ عليه تنطوي الأضلعُ

O lightning, how much dew you roused for them

It spent the night folded over their ribs

ما لمعتْ منكَ سنا شعلةٍ

اِلاّ وسحَّتْ منهمُ الأدمعُ

No gleam shone from you, no flame

Except it stroked tears from them

وكان في الدمعِ لهمْ راحةٌ

لو أنَّه بعدَهمُ ينفعُ

And in their tears was comfort for them

If only it could benefit them after they left

يبكونَ في أربعِ أحبابِهم

شوقاً وقد بكَّتْهُمُ الأربُعُ

They cry for their four loved ones

Yearning, and the four made them weep

خلتْ مِن السكّان أقطارُها

فهي قِفارٌ منهمُ بلقعُ

Its regions emptied of inhabitants

So it is wasteland, desolate of them

وحلَّها مِن بعدِ غِزلانِها

مِنَ الفلا غِزلانُها الرّتَّعُ

And after its lovely ones it was filled

With mountain goats, their young nannies

أقسمتُ ما السحبُ غدتْ حُفَّلاً

على الرُّبى مُثجِمةً تَهْمَعُ

I swear the clouds have not gathered

Lowering over the meadows, swelling

غصَّ يَفاعُ الرضِ مِن مائِها

ليستْ تَني سَحّاً ولا تُقلِعُ

The valley's torrents swelled from their water

Bringing neither benefit nor going away

يكادُ أن يدفعَها خيفةً

يكفَّهِ مِن قربِها المُرضِعُ

Fear almost drives them away

Stopped by their nearness, the suckling child

اهمعَ مِن دمعي غداةَ النوى

والعيسُ في بيدِهمُ تُوضِعُ

My tears bubbled over the morning they left

And the caravan was loaded among them

ناديتُ بالحادي واظعانُهم

للبينِ لا كان النوى تُرفَعُ

I called to the departing one, while they

Were raised up for separation, no farewell taken

قفْ ساعةً يحظُ بتوديِعهم

صبٌّ من التفريقِ لا يهجعُ

Stop a while, to bid them farewell

A downpour of parting that does not let one sleep

لم يُلهِه بعدَهمُ ملعبٌ

ولا اطبَّاهُ لهمُ مربعُ

After them, no playground distracted him

Nor square enclosed for them delighted him

لموقه سارتْ مطاياهمُ

قلبٌ على بينهمُ مُوجَعُ

Their mounts departed and so did their hearts

How did their caravan proceed without following?

ساروا فسارَ القلبُ في اِثرهم

كيف استقلَّتْ عيسهمْ يَتبعُ

O sighs of the leaves! She has wearied me

A dove moaning over the branches

يا سُجَّعَ الورقِ لقد شاقَني

حمامةٌ فوقَ النقا تَسجعُ

No ear has heard the like, as she returns

With a voice so melodious, nothing equals it

ما سمعتْ أذنٌ وقد رَّجعتْ

كصوتِها طيباً ولا تَسمعُ

The valley ravished her, so she moaned

Over its slopes, though forbidden her

أطرَبها الدوحُ فناحتْ على

أفنانهِ وهو لها مُونِعُ

And I sculpted from the relics of the days of passion

After absence, is there a way back?

ونحتُ مِن تَذكارِ عهدِ الهوى

فهل له بعدَ النوى مَرجِعُ

A wild cow yearned for Mount Ħajar

So she wanders the meadows, restless

وعِرْمِسٍ حَنَّتْ إلى حاجرٍ

فهي برحلي في الفلا تَنْزِعُ

She longs for its bright summit

Its full moons absent from life

تشوقُها أنوارُ نُوّارِه

فروضُهُ غِبَّ الحيا مُمرِعُ

As if she were the hyena, when

Nu'man appears, or dawn breaks

كأنَّها الهَيْقُ إذا ما بدا

نعمانُ أو لاحَ الأجرَعُ

Campsites delighted her with their vegetation

After the meadows delighted her

منازلٌ راقَ لها نبتُها

مِن بعدِما راقَ لها المشرَعُ

So she thirsts from family and relations

Towards the sanctuary, thirsty, expectant

فهي من الآل وتهاره

نحو الحمى ظامئة تطلع

The soft gurgling of its sea tempts her

Bending to drink from its echo

يغرُّها الرقراقُ مِن بحرِه

فمِن صداها تَنثني تكرعُ

She seeks a reunion whose time has passed

The days gone by, no returning

تطلبُ وصلاً فاتَ ميقاتُه

وفائتُ الأزمانِ لا يَرْجِعُ