قَد كُنتُ أَحسَبُنى بالبَينِ مُضطَلعاً

مابى سَفاهٌ وَلاَ مِن ذَاَكَ تَغميرُ

I thought I was well equipped to bear the separation

I am no fool, nor prone to fantasies,

حتّى استهامَ فُؤَادِى بَعدَ ماطَلَعَت

نَجداً مُوَلِّيةً تُحدَى بها العِيرُ

Until my heart was seized with longing when she appeared

A land of sweet grass where the caravans alight.

يا لَيتَنى قَبلَ ذَاكَ البَينٍ أَدركنى

حَتفُ الحِمامِ وقادتنى المقادِيرُ

Would that death had found me before that separation

And the fates had led me to my grave

يومَ انصَرَفتُ كأنّى مُسلَمٌ بِدَمٍ

وَمُغرَقٌ فى مُجاجِ الدَّنِّ مَخمورُ

The day I turned away was as if I, slain,

Was drowned in the turbid sea of baseness, drunk.

سَاهِى الفوادِ تَمَشَّت فى مَفاصِلِهِ

صَهباءُ أَخلصَها الحانوتُ والقِيرُ

My heart wandered its chambers,

Its passion dimmed by taverns and tombs.