1. حنانَيْك يا ورقاء حتى مَ تسجعي

    رويدك مهلاً فالغضى بين أضلعي

    Have mercy, O gray dove—how long will you coo?

    Gently, softly, for ghada embers lie between my ribs.

  2. حنانَيكِ قد أسهرت جَفن صبابتي

    وهيجت لي ذكر الطلول بلعلع

    Have mercy: you have kept my longing’s eyelid sleepless,

    And stirred in me the memory of the ruined camps at Laʿlaʿ.

  3. حنانيكِ قد بانَ الخليطُ وأغضف الن

    نجاشي وانهلت سحائب أدمعي

    Have mercy: the companions have departed, and a veil has been drawn by the

    Negus, and clouds of my tears have poured down.

  4. فلم أنسَ لا أنسى الوداع وموقفاً

    وقفت به أبكي ويبكي مودعي

    I have not forgotten—nor shall I forget—the farewell and the place

    Where I stood weeping, while the one bidding me farewell wept.

  5. وولت مطايا الركب فيهم وغربت

    وشرقتُ ذا وجد بقلب مروَّع

    The caravan’s mounts turned away, bearing them, and headed west,

    And I headed east, full of longing, with a terror-stricken heart.