مالي أرى الماء علا وارتقَى

مالي أرى الماء علا وارتقَى

كأنّ فيه حَبَب البَرْدِ

كأنّ فيه حَبَب البَرْدِ

Why do I see the water rise and climb,

As though the water climbed high

As though it held beads of hail,

Bearing the chill of ice within,

وزاحم المعشوق في قدّه

وزاحم المعشوق في قدّه

تزاحم الأْعظُم للجلد

تزاحم الأْعظُم للجلد

And rival the beloved in stature,

My lover's slender form vies

As bones crowd against the skin?

With the tallest, finest reed;

تراه ماء النيل وافتْ به

تراه ماء النيل وافتْ به

سَبْع وعشر كُمَّل العدّ

سَبْع وعشر كُمَّل العدّ

Do you think it is Nile water that has reached

You'd think it was the Nile in flood

A full count of seven and ten,

With seventeen cubits at its peak,

أم نثر المعشوق من دمعه

أم نثر المعشوق من دمعه

خوفاً من الهجران والصدّ

خوفاً من الهجران والصدّ

Or has the beloved scattered some of his tears

Or tears my lover shed in dread

For fear of abandonment and rejection?

Of estrangement and disdain.