قسمًا بِرَبِّي ما رأيتُ كهذه

حُسنًا على مَرِّ الزَّمانِ بما جرى

I swear by my Lord I have not seen the like of her beauty

In the passage of time and all that has come to pass

برزَتْ لقلبي بعد طولِ قُنوطِه

فكأنَّها برقٌ تحايَلَ وانبرى

She appeared to my heart after its long despair

As though she was lightning maneuvering and rising high

كيف السَّبيلُ ودون دَرْكِ مزارِها

كمنازلِ الدَّمَّام مِن أمِّ القُرى

How can I reach her sanctuary without knowing the way

Like the spots of blood from the Mother of Villages

ماذا أقولُ وقد تربَّعَ دُونَها

باللَّيلِ طيفٌ يستثيرُ إذا سرى

What can I say, and by night a specter has settled near her

That stirs whenever it glides by

لو أنَّها تُصغي لقلبي بعدما

علمتْ بشوقٍ يستطيلُ بما اعترى

If only she would listen to my heart after she had known

Of a longing that grows with all that has transpired

لضربتُ ظَهر العِيسِ في فلَواتِها

حتى تبلِّغني مُنايَ كما أرى

I would strike the back of the courser in her open plains

Until it takes me to the goal of my desire

للهِ أشكو ما لقيتُ من الجوى

في حبِّها ومن السُّهادِ وما بَرى

To God I complain of what I have suffered from love's anguish

And wakefulness and all that I see

ومن الدُّموعِ زجرتُها في ليلةٍ

شدَّتْ متونَ النَّجمِ فيها فامترى

And from tears I have chided on a night that drew tight

The ropes of the stars and so came to flow

صدَّتْ وكانت قبل ذلك كلَّما

عاتبتُها ضحكتْ فأسلو ما جرى

She was aloof though before she would laugh whenever

I reproached her, and so my misery subsided

فاليومَ دسَّتْ آيةَ البينِ التي

قد كنتُ أحذَرُ أنْ تكدِّرَ ما نرى

But today she has set the sign of separation that

I feared would poison what we once shared

سُوقوا إلى الحَضَـرِيِّ آيةَ وصلِها

فلقد رآه اللَّيلُ مغبونَ الكرى

Take the evidence of her connection to the guards

For the night has seen it, disappointed and distraught