1. يا مَنْ نَأَى فجَعَلتُ بعدَ فِرَاقِهِ

    أسِمُ الوُجُوهَ بِنَظرةِ المُتَبدِّلِ

    O you who went afar, after parting from you I began

    To mark faces with the gaze of one seeking a substitute.

  2. فارْتَدَّ سَرْحُ اللَّحظِ أَعجَفَ سَائِماً

    إذْ كَانَ مرتَعُهُ بِوَادٍ مُمْحِلِ

    So the grazing herd of my gaze returned gaunt,

    For its pasture lay in a barren valley.

  3. ما أنْ وجَدْتُ لِقُرْبِ غَيرِكَ لَذَّةً

    إلاّ وكُنتَ عَلَى البِعَادِ ألذّ لِي

    Never did I find pleasure in another's nearness

    But you, though far away, were sweeter to me.

  4. سَأقُولُ والأمْثَالُ يُرْسِلُها الفَتَى

    فِيمَا يَشَاءُ مَقَالةَ المُتَمثِّلِ

    I shall say—and a young man utters proverbs

    As he wishes—the words of one quoting a proverb:

  5. نَقِّلْ فُؤَادَكَ حَيثُ شِئْتَ فإنَّهُ

    ما الحُبُّ إلاَّ للحَبِيبِ الأوَّلِ

    Move your heart wherever you wish, for indeed

    Love is only for the first beloved.

  6. كَمْ مَنْزِلٍ في الأَرْضِ يأْلفُهُ الفَتَى

    وحَنينُهُ أبَداً لأوَّلِ مَنْزلِ

    How many a home on earth a young man grows fond of,

    Yet his longing is always for his first home.