1. وَميضُ ثَغر يَفترُّ بالثَغرِ

    أَسفر في رامَة عَلى السَفَرِ

    A gleam from a mouth smiling at the frontier

    Shone in Rāma upon the travelers.

  2. فاِستَيقِظوا وَالنُجومُ ما عَهِدوا

    في الشَرقِ وَاللَيل أَبيض الأُزرِ

    So they awoke, while the stars were as they had known them

    In the east, and the night was white-robed.

  3. قُلتُ سَنا البَدرِ كَي أُغالِطَهُم

    وَلَيسَ من ثَمّ مَطلعُ البَدرِ

    I said, “The full moon’s radiance,” to mislead them,

    Yet the full moon does not rise from there.

  4. أُغمِض العَينَ حينَ لاحَ وَما

    ذَلِكَ إِلّا لِخَوف مَن تَدري

    I close my eye when he appears, and

    That is only for fear of the one you know.

  5. وَأَرفَعُ الصَوتَ بِالحَديث عَسى

    يَخفى وَجيبُ الفُؤادِ في الصَدرِ

    And I raise my voice in conversation, hoping

    The pounding of my heart within my breast will go unheard.

  6. كَيفَ بِأخواله الصُدور وَهُم

    يَرونَ في القَتلِ أَعظمَ الذِكرِ

    What of his maternal uncles, the chieftains, when they

    See in killing the greatest renown?

  7. وَحَلَّلوا زينَةً وَعِندَهُمُ

    مُحَرَّم الخَمرِ شِدَةِ السُكر

    And they have deemed beauty lawful, though in their view

    Wine is forbidden for its intense intoxication.

  8. أَنتَ عَلى أَن أَعيشَ مُقتَدِراً

    يا قاتِلي لَو رَعَيتَ في الأَجرِ

    You have the power to let me live,

    O my killer, if you would consider the reward.