لَو كانَ لِيَ كَالعاشِقينَ عَواذِلٌ

لَغَلَبتَهُم بِتَحَمُّلي وَتَجَمُّلي

If I had lovers like the passionate ones,

I would have surpassed them with my endurance and composure.

أَو كانَ يَمنَعث مِن وِصالي حَسَدُ

لَسَعَيتُ في تَشتيتِهِم وَتَوَصُّلي

Or if envy prevented my union,

I would have sought to scatter them and connect.

لَكِنَّ مَحبوبي تَعشَقُ نَفسُهُ

عِشقاً يَفوقُ تَوَلُّعي وَتَغَزُّلي

But my beloved is in love with himself,

A love that exceeds my caprice and amorousness.

وَأَثارَ بي وَجدي وَآثَرَ بَعدَهُ

فَغَدا العَذولُ فَما يَكونُ تَحيلي

And he provoked my fervor but then preferred another,

So refusal became inevitable, what could my scheming do?