كَاَنَّ ما بِى مِن أرانِي اَولَقُ

وَلِلشَبابِ شِرَّةٌ وَغَيهَقُ

What I had of pleasures are gone

And youth has maladies and is fragile

أنَّى اَلَمّ طَيفُ لَيلَى يَطرُقُ

وَدُونَ مَسرَاها فَلاةٌ فَيهَقُ

When does Layla's phantom come furtively?

And beyond her dwelling is barren wilderness

تِيه مَرَوراةٌ وفَيفٌ خَيفَقُ

نائِى المِياهِ ناضِب مُحَلِّقُ

Wandering and a fluttering mirage

Thirsty, hovering above the water

سَمَهدَر يَكسُوهُ آل اَبهَقُ

كَاَنَّما نُشِّرَ فِيهِ النَرمَقُ

Clad in gray, the color of dusk

As if tatters were scattered in it

ومَنهلٍ طامٍ عَلَيهِ الغَلفَقُ

يُنِيرُ اَو يُسدِي بِهِ الخَدَرنَقُ

And a flowing spring over which darkness hovers

It lights up or is shadowed by the little stars

سبائِباً يُجِيدُها وَيُصفِقُ

وَرَدتُهُ وَاللَيلُ داجٍ اَبلَقُ

Braiding tales and applauding

I visited it while night was pitch dark

وَصاحِبِي ذاتُ هبابٍ دَمشَقُ

خَطباءُ وَرقاءُ السَراةٍ عَوهَقُ

And my friend is Damascus, abode of loved ones

Orators and eloquent men of stature, prestigious

كَاَنَّها بَعدَ الكَلالِ زورَقُ

ناجٍ مُلحٌ فى الخَبارِ مَيلَقُ

It was as if after beauty it was a boat

Whispering, sailing in the news

كَاَنَّهُ سُوذانِق أو نِقنِقُ

It was like branches or twigs