1. طَمَعي في لِقاكَ بَعدَ إِياسِ

    هُوَ أَغرى قَلبي بِقَصدِ أَياسِ

    My hope of meeting you after despair

    is what lured my heart toward Ayas.

  2. وَلَوَ اَنّي عَلِمتُ أَنَّكَ بِالزَو

    راءِ وافَيتُها بِعَيني وَراسي

    And had I known that you were in al-Zawraʾ,

    I would have come there with my eye and head.

  3. وَكَذا في دِمَشقَ لَولاكَ ما أَو

    رَدتُ خَيلي بِها عَلى بانِياسِ

    Likewise, in Damascus, were it not for you I would not have

    brought my horses to water there at Baniyas.

  4. بَل تَوَهَّمتُ أَن تَعودَ إِلى الشا

    مِ فَوافَيتُها عَلى سيواسِ

    Rather, I imagined you would return to al-Sham,

    so I came there by way of Sivas.

  5. يا خَليلي مِن دونِ كُلِّ خَليلٍ

    وَأَنيسي مِن دونِ أَهلَي وَناسي

    O my friend, above all other friends,

    and my solace, above my family and my people,

  6. لا تَكُن ناسِياً لِعَهدي فَإِنّي

    لَستُ ما عِشتُ لِلعُهودِ بِناسي

    do not forget my pledge, for I

    shall not forget pledges as long as I live.

  7. قِس ضَميري عَلى ضَميرِكِ في الوُد

    دِ فَإِنَّ الوِدادَ عَلمُ قِياسي

    Measure my heart against yours in love,

    for affection is the standard by which I judge.

  8. وَاِعتَمِد موقِناً عَلىصِدقِ وُدّي

    لا عَلى ما يَضُمُّهُ قُرطاسي

    And rely with certainty on the sincerity of my love,

    not on what my paper holds.

  9. لَو تَراني كَما عَهِدتَ مِنَ اللَذ

    ذَةِ بَينَ القِسّيسِ وَالشَمّاسِ

    If you could see me, as you once knew me, amid pleasure,

    between the priest and the deacon,

  10. أَشتَري التِبرَ بِاللُجَينِ وَلا أَف

    رُقُ ما بَينَ عَسجَدٍ وَنَحاسِ

    buying gold with silver, and making no

    distinction between pure gold and copper,

  11. فَتَراني يَوماً بِخِمّارَةِ النَه

    رِ وَطَوراً بِحانَةِ الدِرباسِ

    you would see me one day at the river tavern,

    and another at al-Dirbas's tavern.

  12. فَأُناسٌ تَلومُ في نَقصِ كيسي

    وَأُناسٌ تَلومُ في مَلءِ كاسي

    So some reproach me for my dwindling purse,

    and others reproach me for filling my cup.

  13. ذاكَ خَيرٌ مِن خِدمَتي لِأُناسٍ

    هُم إِذا ما اِختَبَرتُ غَيرُ أُناسِ

    That is better than my serving people

    who, when I test them, are not people at all.

  14. يَستَقِلّونَ ما بَذَلتُ مِنَ النُص

    حِ وَيَستَكثِرونَ فَضلَ لِباسي

    They belittle the counsel I have offered,

    and deem my extra clothing excessive.

  15. وَلَوَ اَنّي أَفوهُ فيهِم بِلَفظٍ

    كادَ أَن يَنسِفَ الجِبالَ الرَواسي

    And were I to utter a word about them,

    it would all but blast apart the firmly rooted mountains.

  16. فَسَأُفني ما قَد حَوَيتُ وَلا أَذ

    خَرُ فَلساً لِساعَةِ الإِفلاسِ

    So I shall spend all I have amassed, and not

    save a single fals for the hour of bankruptcy.

  17. وَإِذا ما غَرِقتُ في لُجَجِ الهَم

    مِ فَفي مارِدينَ مَلقى المَراسي

    And whenever I drown in the depths of sorrow,

    Mardin is where the anchors are cast.

  18. بَلدَةٌ ما أَتَيتُها قَطُّ إِلّا

    خِلتُها بَلدَتي وَمَسقَطِ راسي

    A town I have never visited

    without thinking it my own town and birthplace.

  19. بَذَلوا لي مَعَ السَماحَةِ وُدّاً

    هُوَ مِنهُم يَزيدُ في إيناسي

    They offered me affection along with generosity,

    and that affection from them deepens my sense of ease.

  20. فَنَهاري جَليسُ لَيثِ عَرينٍ

    وَمَسائي ضَجيعُ ظَبيِ كِناسِ

    By day I am companion to a lion in his den,

    and by evening, bedfellow to a gazelle in its thicket.

  21. فَأُناسٌ تَقولُ يا أَبا فِراسٍ

    وَأُناسٌ تَقولُ يا أَبا نُواسِ

    So some say, 'O Abu Firas!'

    and others say, 'O Abu Nuwas!'

  22. لَستُ أَشكو بِها مِنَ العَيشِ إِل

    لا أَنَّني لا أَراكَ في الجُلّاسِ

    There I have no complaint about life except

    that I do not see you among my companions.

  23. سَيِّدي صاحِبي أَنيسي جَليسي

    طَوقُ جيدي مُعاشِري تاجَ راسي

    My lord, my friend, my solace, my companion,

    the necklace at my neck, my intimate, the crown of my head:

  24. لا يُغَيُّركَ ما تَقولُ الأَعادي

    فَبِناءُ الوِدادِ فَوقَ أَساسِ

    do not be changed by what the enemies say,

    for affection's edifice stands upon a foundation,

  25. أَو نَفاري عَليكَ مِن نَصَبِ الدَر

    بِ بِحَسبِ الإِدلالِ وَالإيناسِ

    or by my irritation with you from the weariness of the road,

    as familiarity and intimacy allow,

  26. أَو خِصامُ الشَهباءِ في يَومِ إِخرا

    جِ غُلامي بِها إِلى النَخّاسِ

    or by the quarrel in al-Shahbaʾ on the day of sending

    my servant there to the slave dealer.

  27. ذاكَ هَفوُ اللِسانِ مِن حِدَّةِ الغَي

    ظِ لِأَنَّ الفُضولَ مِثلُ العُطاسِ

    That was a slip of the tongue from the heat of anger,

    for idle talk is like a sneeze.

  28. يا نَسيمَ الشَمالِ إِن جُزتَ بِالزَو

    راءِ يَوماً مُعَطَّرَ الأَنفاسِ

    O breeze of the north, if you pass through al-Zawraʾ

    one day with fragrant breath,

  29. زُر حَبيباً لَنا بِدَربِ حَبيبٍ

    وَاِتلُ شَوقي وَما أَبيتُ أُقاسي

    visit a beloved of ours in Darb Habib,

    and recite my longing and what I spend the night enduring:

  30. صاحِباً لَم يَزَل إِذا دَهَمَ الهَم

    مُ يُساوي بِنَفسِهِ وَيُواسي

    a friend who has never ceased, whenever sorrow strikes,

    to treat me as his equal and offer comfort.

  31. وَإِذا ما قَضَيتَ تَقبيلَ كَفَّي

    هِ فَسَلَّم عَلى فَتى الدِرباسِ

    And when you have finished kissing both his hands,

    then greet the young man of al-Dirbas.

  32. ثُمَّ صِف لِلجَلالِ نَجلَ الحَريرِي

    يُ اِشتِياقي وَالفَخرُ نَجلُ الياسِ

    Then describe to al-Jalal, son of al-Hariri,

    my longing—and to al-Fakhr, son of Ilyas.