1. عبرة تجري وكبد تحترق

    ومليك فوق تخت تحترق

    A tear flows, and a liver burns.

    And a sovereign burns upon a throne.

  2. لذ لي ذلي لسلطان الهوى

    وهواني وله العز بحق

    My abasement before the sultan of love is sweet to me,

    And my humiliation—while honor is rightfully his.

  3. باسلاف العصر رقي لي فلا

    يرحم العاشق الا من عشق

    By the forebears of the age, have pity on me, for no one

    Shows mercy to a lover except one who has loved.

  4. ثوب صبري عنك أمسى خلقاً

    بالياً من مس كف ينخرق

    The garment of my patience without you has grown threadbare,

    Worn out, it tears at the touch of a palm.

  5. كلما ارتق منه جانباً

    شرع الآخر منه ينفتق

    Whenever I mend one side of it,

    The other side of it begins to come unstitched.

  6. ودموعي كلما كفكفتها

    عن خدودي باكفي تندفق

    And my tears, whenever I wipe them

    From my cheeks with my palms, gush forth.

  7. اعملي الحيلة في وصلي فبي

    ما لو انصب على الصخر فلق

    Devise a way to unite with me, for within me is

    Something that, if poured upon rock, would split it.