هَجَرَ الخيالُ فزرتُهُ بالخاطرِ

ولقد يكونُ زمانَ هجركِ زائري

The phantom departed so I visited it in thought

Though the time of your abandonment may be fleeting

أسَدَدْتِ مسراه فلم يُطِقِ السُّرَى

أمْ باتَ عِندَكِ نائِماً عن ساهِرِ

You barred its path, so it could not bear the journey

Did it sleep at your side, oblivious to the wakeful?

طُمعَتْ مصافحتي له إذ زُرتُهُ

فَقَبضتُ مِن ظلِّ الخيالِ النافِرِ

I hoped to greet it when I came to visit

But grasped only the shadow of the shrinking ghost

إِنّي اقتَنَعْت بِزَورَةٍ زُوْرِيَّةٍ

أَلفَيتُ باطِنَها خِلافَ الظاهِرِ

I made do with an imaginary visit

Finding its essence differed from its facade

وَإِذا أَرَدتَ بِأَنْ تُصَوِّرَ للمُنى

صُوَراً فَسَلِّمْها لِفِكرَةِ شاعِرِ

And if you wish to depict yearning

Entrust the task to the mind of a poet

يا مَنْ لها بالسِّحرِ طرْفٌ قاتلٌ

أسَمِعْتِ بالفُتْيَا الَّتي في الساحِرِ

O you whose glance works magic with ruin

Did you hear of the charmer in the ruins?

إِنِّي نَظَرتُ فَلَم أجِدْ لك فتكَةً

إلّا بِحَدِّ حسامِ لَحظٍ فاتِرِ

I looked but found you have no means of conquest

Save with the edge of a languid, fading glance

أثْبَتِّ حُبّكِ في فؤادٍ خافقٍ

أوَ ما عجبت لواقعٍ في طائِرِ

Affirm your love in a fluttering heart

Else I wonder not at one caught in a snare