وافى خيالك بعد طول نِفارِ

فجعلتُ موطِئَهُ سَنى الأَبصارِ

Your imagination came to me after a long estrangement

So I made its resting place the delight of my eyes

أَنّى اِهتَدى منك الخَيالُ لبلدةٍ

أَقصى وأَجهل من بلاد وَبارِ

From where did this imagination find its way to a land

The furthest and most unfamiliar of lands and plains

لا والَّذي جعل المحصَّبَ دارَها

والهندَ من دون الأَحِبَّة داري

No, by Him who made the valley its abode

And India, beyond gems, my house

لَم يَهدِه إلّا تَصعُّد زَفرَتي

فكأَنَّها نارٌ تُشبُّ لسارِ

None guided it but the ascent of my sighs

As if it were a fire flaming for the secret

حَيّا فأَحيا ذكرَ من لم أَنسَهُ

ما كانَ أَغناهُ عن التذكارِ

It revived the memory of one I did not forget

Whom remembrance did not suffice instead of recollection

آهٍ لأَيّام الحجاز وَساكني

أَرضِ الحِجاز ورَوضهِ المِعطارِ

Alas for the days in Hejaz and its dwellers

The land of Hejaz and its fragrant garden

حيث السَلامةُ مربعي ورُبى الخما

ئِل مرتعي وَحِماهُ دارُ قَراري

Where my safety squared and the protection of hosts was my pasture

And its sanctuary was the house of my rest

كَم فيه من قمر قمِرتُ بحسنه

أَوفى بغرَّته على الأَقمارِ

How many a moon did I fancy for its beauty

Its fullness outshone the full moons

ما شُكَّ فيه أَنَّه شَمسُ الضحى

لو كانَ مَطلَعُها من الأَزرارِ

No doubt that it was the sun of morning

Even if its rising was from earrings

فالطَرفُ من إِشراقِه متردِّدٌ

ما بين بدرِ دجىً وَشَمسِ نَهارِ

So my glance goes back and forth

Between the moonlight of nightfall and the sun of day

ولربَّ لَيلٍ بتُّ فيه معَلَّلاً

من ريق مبسمه بكأسِ عُقارِ

And many a night I spent infatuated

Intoxicated by the wine of his smile

أَلهو به واللَهوُ داعيَةُ الصبا

ومن الغَرام تهتُّكي وَوقاري

I play with him though play calls up passion

And from love I lose my dignity and composure

أَيّامَ لم تلوِ الديون عَلى اللِوى

سُعدى ولا نأت النَوى بنوارِ

Days when debts did not burden the twisted ones

My happiness and wishes did not come to fruition

يا حَبَّذا زَمنُ الوصال وحبَّذا

عَهدُ الحَبيب ودارُه من داري

Oh, most delightful were the days of union and most delightful

Were the days of the beloved and his house instead of mine

زَمَنٌ أَطَعتُ به الصَبابة والصِبا

وَقَضيتُ فيه من الهَوى أَوطاري

A time when I obeyed youth and passion

And in it I finished my turns of love

أَرضَيتُ أَحبابي وغِظتُ لوائمي

وطرحتُ عُذري واِطَّرحتُ عِذاري

I pleased my loved ones and was harsh to those who blamed me

I gave up my excuse and discarded my pretexts

إِذ لا رَبيعُ الوصل فيه محرَّمٌ

كلّا وَلَيسَ خُطى المُنى بقصارِ

When the spring of union therein is not forbidden

No, and the steps of desire are not short

لم أوفِه حقّاً أَحال به على

قَلبي الكَئيبِ وَمدمعي المدرارِ

I did not give it its due, I refer that

To my aching heart and my streaming tears

قسماً بمكَّةَ وَالحطيم وَزَمزَمٍ

وَالبيت ذي الأَركانِ والأَستارِ

I swear by Mecca, al-Hateem, Zamzam

And the House of the corners and curtains

ما عنَّ لي ذكرُ الحجاز وأَهله

إِلّا عَدِمتُ تجلُّدي وقَراري

Only the memory of Hejaz and its people

Made me lose my patience and composure