1. ذُلّي لزهوك أرضُ

    ولي هوىً فيك محْضُ

    My abasement is earth beneath your pride;

    and my love for you is pure.

  2. يا سيدي لك عبدٌ

    يشقى وعِندكَ خفضُ

    O my master, you have a slave

    who suffers, while ease lies with you.

  3. وفي يمينك بسطٌ

    لِما يُحبُّ وقبضُ

    In your right hand lies the granting

    of what he loves, and its withholding.

  4. فَلِمْ تجورُ عليه

    وخدُّه لك أرض

    Why, then, do you wrong him,

    when his cheek is the ground beneath you?

  5. يُجدُّ في كل يومٍ

    وصْلاً له منكَ نقض

    He renews each day

    a bond that you undo.

  6. منه هَوى واعتقادٌ

    ومنك مقْتٌ ورفض

    From him come love and devotion;

    from you, loathing and rejection.

  7. إن لم يكن كل شيءٍ

    يَبغيه منك فبعضُ

    If he cannot have all

    he seeks from you, then let him have some.

  8. ولم يكنْ منكَ بذلٌ

    لما يُريدُ فعَرضُ

    And if there is no giving from you

    of what he desires, then at least an offer.

  9. بي عنْ صُدودِك ضعفٌ

    ولي بشُكركَ نَهضُ

    I am too weak to bear your turning away,

    yet I have strength to thank you.

  10. فأقرض الصَّبَّ قرْضاً

    يُجْزي فما ضاعَ قَرض

    So give the lovesick lover a loan;

    he will repay it—no loan goes to waste.

  11. فما رثى لخُضُوعي

    لكنْ قسا وهو غضُّ

    But he showed no pity for my submission;

    instead, he was cruel, though young and tender.

  12. وقال طاردْتَ ظبْياً

    ولم يُساعِدكَ ركض

    And he said: You chased a gazelle,

    but running did not help you.

  13. لا تُطمِعَنَّ حليماً

    في زُبدةِ الماءِ مخْضُ

    Let no wise man be lured

    by churning to hope for butter from water.

  14. ما خِلتُ أن رميّاً

    رميتَهُ فيه نبضُ

    I never thought that a stricken quarry

    you had shot still had a pulse.