1. بَكَى بِدُمُوعِ القَطْرِ جَفْنُ الغَمَائِمِ

    فَمَزَّقَ نَحْرُ الزَّهْرِ جَيْبَ الكَمَائِمِ

    The eyelid of the clouds wept tears of rain.

    So the blossoms' breast tore the collar of their bud-sheaths.

  2. وَنَمَّتْ بِأسْرَارِ الرُّبَى ألْسُنُ الشذَى

    فَأدْمَتْ خُدُودَ الوَرْدِ أيْدِي النّسائمِ

    And the tongues of fragrance disclosed the hills' secrets.

    So the hands of the breezes bloodied the roses' cheeks.

  3. وَقَامَتْ عَلَى عُودِ الأرَاكِ حَمَائِمٌ

    تنوحُ عَلَى قَصْفِ الغُصُونِ النَّوَاعِمِ

    And doves stood upon a branch of the arak tree,

    Lamenting the breaking of the tender boughs.

  4. وَصَوَّتَ حَادِي الرَّعْدِ في دَجْنِ غَيْمِهِ

    كَمَا زَأرَتْ فِي الغَابِ صِيدُ الضَّرَاغِمِ

    And thunder's camel-driver cried out in the gloom of its cloud,

    As proud-necked lions roared in the forest.

  5. وَعَزَّى وَميضُ البرقِ ثَكْلاَءَ رَوْضةٍ

    أقَامَ لَهَا القُمْرِيُّ سُوقَ المَآتِمِ

    And the flash of lightning consoled a bereaved garden,

    For which the turtledove had set up a market of mourning.

  6. وَسَلَّتْ يمينُ النَّهْرِ من غمدِ روضِهَا

    لِضَرْبِ رِقَابِ المَحْلِ بِيضَ الصَّوَارِمِ

    And the river's right hand drew from its garden's scabbard

    Gleaming white, keen swords to strike the necks of drought.

  7. وَهَبَّ نَسِيمُ الشَّوْق إذْ خلَّفَ السُّرَى

    مَعَالمَ كانت قَبْلُ بيضَ الْمَوَاسِمِ

    And the breeze of longing stirred when night-travel left behind

    Landmarks whose seasons of gathering had once been bright.

  8. سَرَوْا سَحَراً عَنْهَا فَأقْفَرَ رَبْعُهَا

    وَآنَسَهَا سِرْبُ الظِّبَا وَالنَّعَائِمِ

    They journeyed from it before dawn, so its abode lay desolate,

    And a herd of gazelles and ostriches kept it company.

  9. وَحَثُّوا مَطَايَا البَيْنِ فِي مَهْمَه الفَلاَ

    وَسَارُوا بِلَيْلٍ مِنْ دُجَى الصيد فَاحِمِ

    And they urged on separation's mounts through the trackless desert,

    And travelled through a night, coal-black with the darkness of the hunt.

  10. فَقَامَتْ وَقَدْ زُمَّ المَطِيُّ قِيَامَتِي

    بِسُوقٍ مِنَ التَّبْرِيحِ وَالوجدِ قَائِمِ

    Then, with the mounts already bridled, my day of doom dawned,

    With a market of torment and longing in full swing.

  11. وَلَمْ يَبْقَ مِنْهَا إذْ نَأى أهْلُهَا سوَى

    رُسُومِ مغَانٍ أقْفَرَتْ مِنْ مَغَانِمِ

    And nothing remained of it, when its people went afar, except

    Traces of dwellings left desolate and bereft of bounty,

  12. وَتَغْرِيدِ قُمْرِيٍّ وَإيمَاضِ بَارِقٍ

    وَتَصْوِيتِ إرْعَادٍ ولَفْظِ نَوَاسِمِ

    And a turtledove's warbling, and the flashing of lightning,

    And the sounding of thunder, and the utterance of breezes,

  13. وَنَغْمَةِ شُحْرُورٍ وَغُنَّةِ بُلْبُلٍ

    وَنَعْبَةِ نَعَّابٍ وَأنَّةِ بَاغِمِ

    And a blackbird's melody, and a bulbul's nasal trill,

    And a raven's caw, and a calling gazelle's moan.