جَلَسْتُ بِبُسْتان الجليسِ ودَارهِ

فَهَيَّج لي مِمَّا تناسَيْتُه ذِكْرَا

I sat in the garden of my companion and his home

So it stirred in me what I had forgotten to remember

وَسُقِّيتُ كَأْسَ النَّجْمِ سَاعَةَ ذِكْرِه

فَلَمْ يَسْتَطعْ في ليْلِ هَمِّيَ مِنْ مَسْرى

And I was served a cup of starlight in the hour of remembering him

But it could not find in the night of my worry any comfort

فيا ساقِي الكأَسِ التي قَدْ شَرِبتها

رويدَك إِنَّ القلب في أُمَّةٍ أُخْرَى

O server of the cup I drank from

Go gently, for my heart belongs to another nation

ويا أُفْقُ لو كانَ الحبيبُ مُضَاجِعِي

لما سأَلَتْكَ النفسُ أَنْ تُطْلِع البَدْرَا

O horizon, if my beloved were lying next to me

My soul would not have asked you to bring forth the full moon

ولو وُصِلَتْ سُودُ الليالي بِشَعره

لما خَشِيتْ مِنْ غَير غرَّته فَجْرا

If the blackness of the nights was connected to his hair

I would have feared no dawn but his dawn

تذكَّرتُ وَرْداً للحَبِيبِ محجَّباً

يَمُدُّ عليه ظلُّ أَهْدَابِه سِتْرا

I remembered a rose belonging to the beloved, veiled

Its petals cast a shadow covering it

فصرت أُجَارِي القَلْب مِن أَجْلِ ذِكْرِه

فيقتلني ذِكْراً وأَقتله صَبْرا

So I started to race my heart because of remembering him

Remembrance kills me and I kill it with patience

أَقبِّل ذاك الطَّلَّ أَحْسَبُه اللَمى

وأَلثُم ذَاكَ الزَّهر أَحْسَبُه الثغرا

I kiss that curve thinking it the beloved's cheek

And I kiss that flower thinking it the beloved's mouth

وكم لاَئِمٍ لي في الَّذي قَدْ فَعَلْتُه

وكم قائلٍ دَعْه لعلَّ لَهُ عُذْرا

How many blame me for what I have done

And how many say leave him, perhaps he has an excuse

لأَجلِكَ يا من أَوْحشَ العينَ شَخْصُه

أَنِسْتُ بدمعٍ يَمْنَعُ العينَ أَن تَكْرَى

Because of you, whom your departure has saddened

I found comfort in tears that prevent the eyes from being wearied

وقاسيت مِنْكَ الغدرَ والهَجْرَ والقِلى

وأَنفقْتُ منك الشعر والعمر والدهرا

And from you I suffered betrayal, abandonment, and paucity

And spent on you poetry, life, and time

وأفلس طرفي حين أنفق دمعه

فأجرى فَمِي دَمْعاً يُسَمُّونَه شِعْرا

My eyes went bankrupt when they spent their tears

So my mouth flowed with tears they call poetry

وفارقْتُ عزّاً بالشآم لأَلتَقي

بِمِصْرَ الَّذي من حُسْنِهِ فَضَّلوا مِصْرَا

And I left glory in Damascus to meet

Egypt, which in its beauty they preferred over Egypt

لئن طِبْتُ في مُسْتَنْزَهٍ لم تَكُنْ بِهِ

فلا زلتُ أَلْقى عِنْدَكَ الصَّدَّ والهَجْرَا

If I recovered in a garden where you were not

Still, I met with you only rejection and estrangement

فلو كنت في عَدْنٍ وأَنْتَ بِغَيرِها

وحُوشِيتُ آثرتُ الخروجَ إِلى بَرَّا

If I were in Eden while you were elsewhere

In my loneliness, I would prefer to go out to the wild

ولو كنتُ في بُصْرى وَحَسْبُك لم أَقُلْ

أَيا بَصَري لا تنظرنَّ إِلى بُصْرَى

If I were in Basra while you were not, I would not say

O Basra, do not look upon Basra