لَو أَنَّني يا هِندُ بَدرَ السَما

نَزَلتُ مِن أُفُقي إِلى مُخدِعِك

If only I were, O Hind, the full moon of the sky,

I would descend from my horizon into your chamber,

وَصُرتُ وَقداً لَكِ أَو خاتِماً

في جيدِكِ الناصِعِ أَو إِصبَعِك

And become a necklace for you, or a ring,

Upon your radiant neck or your finger.

أَو بُلبُلَ الرَوضِ ما لَذَّ لي

الاِنشادُ إِن لَم يَكُن في مَسمَعِك

Or were I the garden's nightingale, I would find no delight

In singing, unless it were within your hearing.

وَلَو أَكونُ الأَرَجُ الذاكي

لَما هَجَرتُ لرَوضَ لَولاكِ

And were I the diffusing, fragrant scent,

I would never have left the garden were it not for you,

وَما حَواني غَيرُ مَغناكِ

وَلَم أَفُح حَتّى تَكوني مَعي

Nor would any dwelling hold me but your abode,

And I would not waft until you were with me.

فيكِ وَفي الوَردَةِ سِرُّ الصِبا

وَفي الصِبا سِرُّ الهَوى وَالجَمال

In you and in the rose lies the secret of youth,

And in youth lies the secret of passion and beauty.

فَإِن تَريني واجِماً باهِتاً

حَيالِها أَخشى عَلَيها الزَوال

So if you see me sullen and pale,

Standing before it, fearing its fading away,

فَإِنَّني شاهَدتُ طَيفَ الرَدى

يَنسَلُّ كَالسارِقِ بَينَ الظِلال

It is because I have witnessed the specter of Death

Slinking like a thief amidst the shadows.

وَلاحَ لي في الوَرَقِ

مُنطَرِحاً في الأَرضِ قُدّامي

And there appeared to me among the fallen leaves,

Cast down upon the ground before me,

أَشباحُ آمالي وَأَحلامي

أَحلامُ مَن أَحلامُ مَضناكِ

The ghosts of my hopes and my dreams—

The dreams of whom? The dreams of your weary lover.