1. إذا يموت الورد لا يمحي

    إلا السنا واللون والرونق

    When the rose dies, nothing is effaced

    but its radiance, color, and splendor.

  2. ويخلد الطيب فإما جرت

    ريح الصبا من جانب يعبق

    And its fragrance endures; if ever there blows

    an east wind from some quarter, it gives off scent.

  3. الورد لا يفنى فناء ولو

    مات وألوى عوده المورق

    The rose does not perish utterly, even if

    it dies and its leafy stem bends.

  4. وأنقضي فتنقضي ضمة

    من المنى والحُلمُ الريّق

    And I pass away; so too passes a cluster

    of wishes, and the fresh dream;

  5. ورغبة جاشت بها أضلعي

    تطبق عينها إذا أطبق

    and a longing with which my ribs surged

    closes its eye when I close mine.

  6. يفنى معي ما كان مني ولا

    يسلم حتى الألم المرهق

    All that was of me perishes with me, and not

    even the exhausting pain survives.

  7. أما حبيبي فهو ذاك الشذا

    كأنه طيف الهنا الأزرق

    As for my beloved, he is that fragrance,

    as though he were the blue vision of bliss.