أَلَمَّ خَيالٌ مِن عُلَيَّةَ بَعدَما

رَجا لِيَ أَهلي البُرءَ مِن داءِ دانِفِ

A specter of my love from Ulayya came to me

After my family had wished I'd recover from grievous ills

وَكُنتُ كَذي ساقٍ تَهَيَّضَ كَسرُها

إِذا اِنقَطَعَت عَنها سُيورُ السَقائِفِ

I was as a palm whose trunk lies broken

When the ropes of those who would climb it fail

فَأَصبَحَ لا يَحتالُ بَعدَ قِيامِهِ

لِمُنهاضَ كَسرٍ مِن عُلَيَّةَ رادِفِ

So I can devise no more schemes after my standing

For one with a broken limb from Ulayya to cure

وَلَو وَصَفَ الناسُ الحِسانَ لَأَضعَفَت

عَلَيهِنَّ أَضعافاً لَدى كُلِّ واصِفِ

And if people were to portray virtue

It would diminish it greatly in each describer's eyes

لِأَنَّ لَها نِصفَ المِلاحَةِ قِسمَةً

مَعَ الفَترَةِ الحَسناءِ عِندَ التَهانُفِ

For virtue owns half of all charm

Along with a beautiful discretion before the zealous

ذَكَرتُكِ يا أُمَّ العَلاءِ وَدونَنا

مَصاريعُ أَبوابِ السُجونِ الصَوارِفِ

I remembered you, O mother of the highborn

While around us lie open the gates of imprisoning dungeons

قَدِ اِعتَرَفَت نَفسٌ عُلَيَّةَ داؤُها

بِطولِ ضَنىً مِنها إِذا لَم تُساعِفِ

A soul that ached for Ulayya has confessed

To prolonged estrangement whenever she does not redouble her efforts

فَإِن يُطلِقُ الرَحمَنُ قَيدي فَأَلقَها

نُحَلِّل نُذوراً بِالشِفاهِ الرَواشِفِ

So if the Merciful releases my bond I will fulfill it

With vows from eager lips should I live to do so

وَإِلّا تُبَلِّغها القِلاصُ فَإِنَّها

سَتُبلِغُها عَنّي بُطونُ الصَحائِفِ

Otherwise, the messenger will convey it as it is destined

To reach her in the scrolls of parchment

وَلَو أَسقَبَت أُمُّ العَلاءِ بِدارِها

إِذاً لَتَلَقَّتني لَها غَيرَ عائِفِ

And if the mother of the exalted were to settle in her abode

Then she would find me hastening to her without hesitation

وَكَم قَطَّعَت أُمُّ العَلاءِ مِنَ القُوى

وَمَوصولِ حَبلٍ بِالعُيونِ الضَعائِفِ

And how many bonds has the mother of the exalted severed

Of hearts fastened by weak vision

أَبى القَلبُ إِلّا أَن يُسَلّى بِحاجَةٍ

أَتى ذِكرُها بَينَ الحَشا وَالشَواغِفِ

My heart insisted on finding solace in a longing

Whose mention came amidst the sleepless and the blissful

وَمُنتَحِرٍ بِالبيدِ يَصدَعُ بَينَها

عَنِ القورِ أَن مَرَّت بِها مُتَجانِفِ

By one in thrall to the sword who cries out among them

Against the bitterness that she was opposed

وَرودٍ لِأَعدادِ المِياهِ إِذا اِنتَحى

عَلَيهِ الرَزايا مِن حَسيرٍ وَزاحِفِ

Like a garden for the waterways when they meander

Through it, from a barren and desolate wasteland