أَتانِيَ عَن مَروانَ بِالغَيبِ أَنَّهُ

مُقيدٌ دَمي أَو قاطِعٌ مِن لِسانِيا

News of Marwan came to me from afar that he

Has fettered my blood or cut out my tongue

فَفي العيسِ مَنجاةٌ وَفي الأَرضِ مَذهَبٌ

إِذا نَحنُ رَفَّعنا لَهُنَّ المَثانِيا

So in Jesus there is salvation, and on earth there is refuge

When we lift up the skirts for them

وَرَدَّ الهَوى أُثنانُ حَتّى اِستَفَزَّني

مِنَ الحُبِّ مَعطوفُ الهَوى مِن بِلادِيا

And desire brought the two of us together until it provoked me

The confidant of love from my country

أَقولُ لِداعي الحُبِّ وَالحِجرُ بَينَنا

وَوادي القُرى لَبَّيكَ لَمّا دَعانِيا

I say to the caller of love, and the wall between us

And Wadi Qura, I am at your service when you called me

وَعاوَدتُ مِن خِلٍّ قَديمٍ صَبابَتي

وَأَظهَرتُ مِن وَجدي الَّذي كانَ خافِيا

And I returned from an old passion to my infatuation

And I revealed the ardor that was hidden

وَقالوا بِهِ داءٌ عَياءٌ أَصابَهُ

وَقَد عَلِمَت نَفسي مَكانَ دَوائِيا

And they said he has a fatal love sickness

And my soul knew where my remedy was

أَمَضروبَةٌ لَيلى عَلى أَن أَزورَها

وَمُتَّخِذٌ ذَنباً لَها أَن تَرانِيا

She is angry at me that I visit her

And she takes my sin upon herself that she sees me

هِيَ السِحرُ إِلّا أَنَّ لِلسِحرِ رُقيَةً

وَإِنِّيَ لا أُلفي لَها الدَهرَ راقِيا

It is magic, except magic has an antidote

And I cannot find for it, time has a healer

أُحِبُّ الأَيامى إِذ بُثَينَةُ أَيِّمٌ

وَأَحبَبتُ لَمّا أَن غَنيتِ الغَوانِيا

I love the beautiful women, for Buthaina is a beauty

And I loved when you sang the melodies

أُحِبُّ مِنَ الأَسماءِ ما وافَقَ اِسمَها

وَأَشبَهَهُ أَو كانَ مِنهُ مُدانِيا

I love from the names what suits her name

And resembles it or is derived from it

وَدِدتُ عَلى حُبِّ الحَياةِ لَوَ اَنَّها

يُزادُ لَها في عُمرِها مِن حَياتِيا

I wished for the love of life that it

Would be increased for it from my lifetime

وَأَخبِرتُماني أَنَّ تَيماءَ مَنزِلٌ

لِلَيلى إِذا ما الصَيفُ أَلقى المَراسِيا

And you told me Taima is a dwelling place

For Layla when summer casts down the tents

فَهَذي شُهورُ الصَيفِ عَنّا قَدِ اِنقَضَت

فَما لِلنَوى تَرمي بِلَيلى المَرامِيا

So these are the months of summer, from us they have passed

Why does the passion throw Layla with missiles?

وَأَنتِ الَّتي إِن شِئتِ أَشقَيتِ عيشَتي

وَإِن شِئتِ بَعدَ اللَهَ أَنعَمتِ بالِيا

You who, if you wish, make my life miserable

And if you wish, after God, make me comfortable

وَأَنتِ الَّتي ما مِن صَديقٍ وَلا عِداً

يَرى نِضوَ ما أَبقَيتِ إِلّا رَثى لِيا

You, from whom neither a friend nor enemy

Sees the brightness you left except they eulogized me

وَما زِلتِ بي يا بَثنَ حَتّى لَوَ اَنَّني

مِنَ الوَجدِ أَستَبكي الحَمامَ بَكى لِيا

And you did not cease with me, O Buthaina, until if

I cry from passion, the pigeons cry for me

إِذا خَدِرَت رِجلي وَقيلَ شِفاؤُها

دُعاءُ حَبيبٍ كُنتِ أَنتِ دُعائِيا

If my foot goes numb and they say a cure for it

Is the prayer of a beloved, you were my prayer

إِذا ما لَديغٌ أَبرَأَ الحَليُ داءَهُ

فَحَليُكِ أَمسى يا بُثَينَةُ دائِيا

When a snakebite is cured by an amulet

Then your amulet has become, O Buthaina, my cure

وَما أَحدَثَ النَأيُ المُفَرِّقُ بَينَنا

سُلُوّاً وَلا طولُ اِجتِماعٍ تَقالِيا

Neither did distance, the separator between us, cause

Hard-heartedness, nor did long companionship cause disdain

وَلا زادَني الواشونَ إِلّا صَبابَةً

وَلا كَثرَةُ الواشينَ إِلّا تَمادِيا

Nor did the slanderers increase me except in passion

Nor the multitude of critics except in persistence

أَلَم تَعلَمي يا عَذبَةَ الريقِ أَنَّني

أَظَلُّ إِذا لَم أَلقَ وَجهَكِ صادِيا

Do you not know, O sweet of saliva, that I

Remain in gloom if I do not see your face as a confidant

لَقَد خِفتُ أَن أَلقى المَنِيَّةَ بَغتَةً

وَفي النَفسِ حاجاتٌ إِلَيكِ كَما هِيا

Indeed, I feared that death would take me suddenly

While desires for you remain as they are

وَإِنّي لَيُنسيني لِقاؤُكِ كُلَّما

لَقيتُكِ يَوماً أَن أَبُثَّكِ ما بِيا

And meeting you makes me forget, whenever

I see you one day, to tell you what is in me