أَيا أَخَوَىَّ بالمَدينَةِ أَشرِفا

بِىَ الصَّمدَ أَنظُر نَظرَةً هَل أَرى نَجدَا

O my brother in the city, so eminent

I swear by the Eternal, look and see if I can see deliverance

فَما زادَنِى الإشرافُ إِلاّ صَبابَةً

وَلا ازدَدتُ إِلاّ عَن مَعارفِها بُعدَا

Yet eminence increased me in nothing but foolishness

And I gained nothing but estrangement from its elite

فَإِنَّ بِنَجدٍ مَن بَرانِىَ حُبُّهُ

فَلَم يَتَّرِك مِنِّى عِظَاماً ولا جِلدَا

For in Najd is one whose love sustained me

He left me neither bone nor skin

فَقالَ المَدِينيَّانِ أَنتَ مُكَلَّفٌ

بِداعِي الهَوى لا تَستَطِيعُ لَهُ رَدَّا

So said the townsmen: “You are possessed

By the caller of passion, you cannot reject it.”