1. علمَ الهَوى أني عَليها قادر

    يُنبيكَ أني للصَّبابةِ صابِرُ

    Love knew that I could master it;

    it tells you that I endure longing patiently.

  2. والناسُ فيكَ مصدقٌ ومكذِّبٌ

    لي في هواكَ وعاذلٌ أو عاذِرُ

    And people, concerning you, either believe or disbelieve

    me in my love for you, and either reproach or excuse me.

  3. ما عاينَت عيناكَ جِسماً فاتِراً

    إلا وآفةُ ذاكَ طرفٌ فاتِرُ

    Never have your eyes beheld a languid body

    without a languid glance being its bane.

  4. وإذا مررتَ بناظرٍ يَبكي دَماً

    أسَفاً فما أبكاهُ إلا ناظِرُ

    And if you pass an eye that weeps blood,

    in sorrow, only an eye has made it weep.

  5. يا ساحِر اللحظاتِ ليسَت وحدها

    أنا في خَلاصي من يَديَها ساحِرُ

    O sorcerer of glances, they are not alone:

    I too am a sorcerer in freeing myself from their hands.

  6. وإذا صَبرتُ على التَّصابي ردَّني

    قلبٌ يُراوِحُني بِها ويُباكِرُ

    And when I stand firm against youthful dalliance, I am drawn back

    by a heart that visits me with longing, evening and morning.

  7. مُستَوطِنٌ قَلبي إذا ما استَوطَنوا

    ومسافرٌ معهم إذا ما سافَروا

    My heart settles when they settle,

    and travels with them when they travel.

  8. فإذا وفَوا لي بالودادِ وفى به

    وإذا هُمُ غَدروا فقلبٌ غادِرُ

    So when they are faithful to me in love, it remains faithful to that love;

    and when they betray, my heart is treacherous.

  9. وإذا استجارَ فلا تُجِرهُ من النوى

    واعلَم بأنَّ المُستَجيرَ الجائِرُ

    And if it seeks refuge, do not shelter it from separation;

    and know that the one seeking refuge is the wrongdoer.

  10. يا نائباتِ الدهر حسبُكِ فاقصِري

    قَصُرت يدي ضَعفاً وقل الناصِرُ

    O calamities of time, enough—desist!

    My hand has fallen short through weakness, and helpers have grown few.

  11. إن كانَ همّاً واحِداً يكفيكِ لي

    فالمَرعَشيُّ إذا عدَدتُ العاشِرُ

    If one sorrow of mine is enough for you,

    then al-Marʿashi, when I count, is the tenth.

  12. يا حامليهِ ترفَّقوا بسَريره

    للَه في ذاكَ السريرِ سَرائِرُ

    O you who bear him, be gentle with his bier;

    God has hidden mysteries within that bier.

  13. ويودُّ زائرُ قَبره مما به

    أنَّ البلادَ بما حوَته مقابِرُ

    And the visitor to his grave, in his anguish, wishes

    that the lands, with all they hold, were graves.