1. أَيا أَبَتي دَعني وَما قَد لَقَيتُهُ

    وَلا تَلحَ مَحزونَ الفُؤادِ سَقيما

    O father, leave me to all that I have suffered;

    and do not keep pressing me, heartsore and ailing,

  2. عَديمَ التَشَكّي باكِيَ العَينِ ساهِراً

    حَليفَ الأَسى لِلِاِصطِبارِ عَديما

    never complaining, tearful-eyed and wakeful,

    sorrow’s constant companion, bereft of all endurance.

  3. كَلِفتُ بِها حَتّى أَذابَنِيَ الهَوى

    وَصَيَّرَ عَظمي بِالغَرامِ رَميما

    I became so enamored of her that love melted me,

    and through passion made my bones crumble into dust.

  4. يَقولُ أَبي يا قَيسُ عِندي خِلافُها

    وَأَكثَرُ مِنها بَهجَةً وَنَعيما

    My father says, “Qays, I have one unlike her,

    more radiant than she and richer in delight—

  5. ذي أُمُّها كانَت مِنَ الرومِ أَصلُها

    وَقَصدي أَنا أَصلٌ يَكونُ كَريما

    one whose mother was Roman by descent;

    but what I seek is lineage that is noble.”

  6. رَضيتُ الَّذي قَد عيتَ يا أَبَتي بِها

    وَدَع أَصلَها بَينَ النِساءِ ذَميما

    “I am content with whatever you have faulted in her, Father;

    let her lineage be deemed base among all women.”