أَفِق قَد أَفاقَ العاشِقونَ وَفارَقوا

الهَوى وَاِستَمَرَّت بِالرِجالِ المَرائِرُ

The lovers have awoken from sleep and parted from passion,

While my tears keep flowing relentlessly.

فَقَد ضَلَّ إِلّا أَن تُقَضِّيَ حاجَةً

بِبُرقِ حَفيرٍ دَمعُكَ المُتَبادِرُ

All is lost unless your glistening tears can fulfill a wish,

With lightning flashing from the clouds that gather.

وَهَبها كَشَيءٍ لَم يَكُن أَو كَنازِحٍ

بِهِ الدارُ أَو مِن غَيَّبَتهُ المَقابِرُ

Grant it like something that never was, or like a traveler

Leaving home, or one buried in the graves.

أَأَلحَقُّ إِن دارُ الرَبابِ تَباعَدَت

أَوَ اَن شَطَّ وَليٌ أَنَّ قَلبَكَ طائِرُ

Should I despair if the abode of bliss is far away,

Or that an untamed heart has flown like a bird?

لَعَمرِيَ ما اِستَودَعتُ سِرّي وَسِرُّها

سِوانا حِذاراً أَن تَشيعَ السَرائِرُ

By my life! Neither I confided my secret, nor did she,

Fearing our hidden thoughts would spread.

وَلا خاطَبَتها مُقلَتايَ بِنَظرَةٍ

فَتَعلَمَ نَجوانا العُيونُ النَواظِرُ

Nor did my eyes address her with a glance,

Lest the watching eyes discern our whispered longings.

وَلَكِن جَعَلتُ اللَحظَ بَيني وَبَينُها

رَسولاً فَأَدّى ما تَجُنَّ الضَمائِرُ

Rather, I made my gaze a messenger between us,

Conveying what timid hearts struggle to express.