يا من طواها الليل في بَيدائه

روحاً مفزعة على ظلمائه

O you whom the night enfolded in its wilderness,

A spirit wandering in its darkness,

تتلفتين إليَّ في أنحائه

لهف الفؤاد على الشريد التائه

You glance at me in its corners,

The heart yearns for the straying, lost one.

إن تظمئي لي كم ظمئت إليك

جمع الوفاء شقيةً وشقيا

If you thirst for me as I have thirsted for you,

Faithfulness would gather misfortune and misery.

يا منيتي قست الحياة عليك

وجرت مقادرها الجسام عليا

O my wish, life was cruel to you,

And its mighty decrees were severe on me.

أسفا عليك وأنت روح حائر

والكون أسرارٌ يضيق بها الحجى

Alas for you, a wandering soul,

While the universe is mysteries too narrow for discussion.

تجتاز عابرة ويسرع عابر

وتمر أشباح يواريها الدجى

You pass fleetingly and a passer-by speeds,

And shadows pass which the gloom conceals.

في وَجنتيك توهج وضرام

وبمقلتيك مدامع وذهول

In your cheeks there is glowing and darkness,

And in your eyes tears and confusion,

وكذا تمر بمثلك الأيام

مجهولةً وعذابها مجهول

And so do days pass you by,

Unknown, and their torment unknown.

ولّيتِ قبل لقائنا يا جنتي

لم تظفري مني بقول مسعد

Would that before our meeting, O my paradise,

You had not gained from me a felicitous word;

وكعادة الحظ الشقي وعادتي

أقبلت بعد ذهاب نجمي الأوحد

And as is the way of misfortunate luck and my habit,

I came after the loss of my only star.

تتعاقب الأقدار وهي مسيئةٌ

كم عقنا ليل وخان نهار

Destinies succeed each other and they are harmful,

How many a night we spent awake and day broke faith!

وكأنما هذا الفضاء خطيئة

وكأن همس نسيمه استغفار

As if this space is a sin,

And as if the whisper of its breeze seeks forgiveness.

وكأنه أحزان قوم ساروا

هذي مآتمهم وثم ظلالها

As if it is the sorrows of people who journeyed,

These are their disasters and there are their shadows.

عفتِ القصور وظلت الأسوار

كمناحة جمدت وذا تمثالها

The palaces are empty and the walls remain

Like a frozen shroud and with it statues.

ران السواد على وجود الدور

وسرى إليّ نحيبها والأدمع

Blackness spread over the existence of the houses,

And their wailing and tears crept up to me.

وكأنني في شاطئ مهجور

قد فارقته سفينة لا ترجع

As if on an abandoned shore I am

Left by a ship that will not return.

حملت لنا أملا فلما ودعت

لم يبق بعد رحيلها للناظر

It carried hope for us but when it bid farewell

There remained for the onlooker, after its departure,

إلا خيال سعادة قد أقلعت

ووداع أحبابٍ ودمع مسافر

Only the phantom of a happiness that has departed

And farewell to loved ones and a traveller's tears.