بُثَيْنَةُ ما أعرَضتُ عنكِ ملاَلةً

ولا أنَا عمّا تعلمينَ مُفِيقُ

Buthaina, I did not turn away from you out of boredom,

Nor am I unaware of what you know.

ولكن خشِيتُ الكاشِحين فإنَّني

على سِرِّنا مِن أَن يَذيعَ شفيقُ

But I feared the faultfinders, for I

Feared our secret would be spread by a well-wisher.

فأصبحتُ كالهَيمانِ عَايَنَ مَورِداً

بَروداً ولكن ما إليهِ طَريقُ

So I became like a thirsty man who spied

A cold spring but had no path to reach it.