أَضحَت أُمامَةُ بَعدَ النَّأىِ قَد قَرُبَت
وَالحَمدُ لِلهِ هَذَا يَومُ نَأتِيها
Umamah has come near after the separation
Praise be to Allah, this is the day I meet her
عَجزَاءُ مُدبِرَةً هَيفَاءٌ مُقبِلَةً
كَمُخَّةِ السّاقِ رَضَّ العَظمَ نَاقِيهَا
Tottering away backwards, advancing coquettishly
Like the swaying of a leg whose bone its tendon supports
كأَنَّ حِقفَى كَثِيبٍ أُزِّرَت بِهِمَا
وَمَعقِدُ الحَلىِ شَمسٌ فى تَرَاقِيهَأ
As if the anklets of a dune, adorned with them both
And the necklace's pendant, a sun in its rising
لَو يَستَطِيعُ ضجِيعُ الحُبِّ أَدخَلَهَا
فِى جَوفِهِ عَجَباً مِمّا يَرَى فِيهَا
If only the lover could take her into
His bosom, out of wonder at what he sees in her
فَلا يَمِيلُ وَلاَ يَكرَى مُضَاجِعُهَا
وَلاَ يَمَلُّ مِنَ النَّجوَى مُنَاجِيهَا
Neither leaning to one side, nor turning away are her pillows
Nor is her confidant ever tired of whispering to her
يا لَيتَ شِعرِىَ وَالإِنسَانُ ذُو أَمَلٍ
وَالنَّفسُ أَذكَرُ شَىءٍ لاَ يُوَاتِيهَا
If only I knew—though man is ever hopeful
And the soul remembers best what never comes to it—
هَل ترجِعَنَّ نَوىً لِلحىِّ جَامِعَةً
فِيهِم أُمَيمَةُ قَد فَاءَت قَوَاصِيهَا
Will she ever consent to a life with me
Where Umamah returns and fulfils her promises?
أَبلِغ أُمَيمَةَ أنِّى لَستُ نَاسِيهَا
وَلاَ مُطِيعاً بِظَهرِ الغَيبِ وَاشِيهَا
Give Umamah the message that I've not forgotten her
Nor obeyed the slanderers behind her back
وَلا مُضِيعاً لَها سِرَاً عَلِمتُ بِهِ
حَتّى يُجِيبَ حِمَامَ المَوتِ دَاعِيهَا
Nor betrayed any secret of hers I learned
Until the dove of death answers its caller
يا لَيتَنَا فَرَدَا وَحشٍ نَبِيتُ مَعاً
نَرعَى المِتَانَ ونَخفَى فِى فَيَافِيها
If only we were wild beasts, living together
Grazing the acacia's blossoms and hiding in its thickets
وَلَيتَ كُدرَ القَطَا حَلَّقنَ بِى وَبِهَا
دُونَ السَّماءِ فَعِشنا فى خَوَافِيهَا
If only the wild doves circled me and her
Beneath the sky so we could live in their nests
وَلَيتَ أَنِّي وَإِيّاهَا عَلَى جَبَلٍ
فى رَأسِ شَاهِقَةٍ صَعبٍ مَرَاقِيهَا
If only she and I were on a lofty mountain
At the peak of an impregnable towering height
أَكثَرتُ مِن لَيتنِى لَو كَانَ يَنفَعُنِى
وَمِن مُنَى النَّفسِ لَو تُعطَى أَمانِيها
I have said "if only" too much, though it will not avail me
Nor will my soul's wishes be granted if I name them
