1. أَأَرجو حَياةً بَعدَ فَقدِ زُمُرُّدِ

    وَكانَت بِها روحي تَلَذُّ وَتَغتَذِي

    Can I hope for life after the loss of Zumurrud?

    Through her my soul found delight and nourishment.

  2. زُمُرُّدُ قَد خَلَّفتِ للصَّبِّ لَوعَةً

    وَحُزناً بِقَلبي آخِذاً كُلَّ مَأخَذِ

    Zumurrud, you have left your lovesick one anguish,

    and sorrow that seizes every part of my heart.

  3. رَمَيتِ بِسَهمٍ وَسطَ قَلبٍ مُجَرَّحٍ

    كَأَنَّ بِهِ وَقعَ الحُسامِ المُشَحَّذِ

    You shot an arrow into the midst of a wounded heart,

    as though it bore the stroke of a sharpened sword.

  4. فَحَصَّنتُهُ بِالصَبرِ فيكِ وَعِندَما

    نَبَضت أَتاه السَهمُ مِن كُلِّ منفَذِ

    So I fortified it with patience over you, and when

    you twanged the bow, the arrow reached it through every opening.

  5. فَمِن مُقلَتي تَسهادُ جَفنٍ كَأَنَّما

    يَمُرُّ عَلَيهِ اللَيلُ جلدةَ قُنفُذِ

    From my eye comes an eyelid's sleeplessness, as though

    night passes a hedgehog's hide over it.

  6. وَمِن مَسمَعي صَغوٌ لِصَوتك دائِماً

    وَمِن معطَسي تَوقٌ إِلى عَرفِكِ الشَذِي

    And from my ear, constant listening for your voice,

    and from my nose, a longing for your sweet fragrance.

  7. وَمِن مَبسَمي أَنفاسُ نارٍ تَردَّدَت

    عَلى كَبِدٍ حَرّى وَعَقلٍ مُؤَخَّذِ

    And from my mouth come breaths of fire that course back and forth

    over a burning liver and a bewitched mind,

  8. بِهِ لَمَمٌ قَد مَسَّهُ وَتَخَبُّطٌ

    فَلا بالرُقى يُهدى وَلا بِالتَعوُّذِ

    touched by a fit of madness and wild confusion,

    so neither incantations nor prayers for protection can set it right.

  9. تقدّمها بنتي نَضيرةُ بِنتها

    وَقَد جُمِعا في مُلحدٍ لَم يُسرَّذِ

    My daughter Nadira—her daughter—went before her,

    and both were gathered in a burial niche that was not [unclear].

  10. وَكُنّا الَّذي مَع وَصلَةٍ لي وَعائِدٍ

    وَقَد حُذفا لَم يَبقَ مِنها سِوى الَّذي

    We were 'who,' with my relative clause and a resumptive pronoun;

    and both have been deleted; nothing remains of it but 'who.'

  11. وَزينةِ حِلم عَقلُها ثابِتٌ فَلا

    تَأثرُ مِن إِيهامِ كُلِّ مُشَعوذِ

    And forbearance was her adornment; her mind was steadfast, not

    swayed by any charlatan's deceptions.

  12. وَحازَت لِحُسنِ الخَلقِ خُلقاً مُدَمَّثاً

    وَلينَ كَلامٍ طاهِرٍ لَيسَ بِالبَذي

    And alongside beauty of form, she possessed a gentle character,

    and gentle, pure speech, never foul.

  13. فَما دَنَّسَت فاها بِغيبَةِ غائِبٍ

    وَلا مَنَعَت رفداً لِمَن جاءَ يَحتَذي

    So she never sullied her mouth by speaking ill of the absent,

    nor withheld a gift from anyone who came seeking one.

  14. وَتعرف أَجناسَ المَبيعِ جَميعه

    وَأَثمانه مِن فَحمَةٍ للزُمُرُّذِ

    And she knew every kind of merchandise,

    and its prices, from a lump of charcoal to an emerald.

  15. وَإِن جاءَ كَحّالٌ وَذو الطب نَحوَها

    تُباريهما فَأَذعنا للتَّتلمُذِ

    And if an oculist and a physician came to her,

    she matched them both, so they submitted to becoming pupils.

  16. تَغيَّر ذِهني بَعدَ جِسمي

    فَعَقليَ لَم يَقبل عَزائمَ عوَّذِ

    My mind changed after my body;

    so my reason would not accept exorcists' incantations.

  17. وَجسمي إِذا رُمتُ اِضطِجاعاً لِراحَةٍ

    يَقلَّب عَلى جَمرِ الغَضا ثُم يَحتَذي

    And when I seek to lie down for rest, my body

    is tossed on ghada embers, then shod.

  18. وَإِن رُمتُ نَهضاً لِلقيام فَأَخمَصِي

    أَراهُ كَأَن شَوكُ القَتادِ بِهِ حُذي

    And if I try to rise and stand, the arch of my foot—

    I find it as though shod with qatad thorns.

  19. وَإِن أَنا حاوَلتُ القُعودَ تَواتَرَت

    هُمومٌ مَتى تَعلَق بِروحِيَ تَجبذِ

    And if I attempt to sit down, there come in succession

    cares that tug at my soul whenever they cling to it.

  20. فَقَلبيَ في حُزنٍ وَعَينيَ في بُكا

    فَيا لَكَ شَجواً بينَ ذا قَد ثَوى وَذِي

    So my heart is in sorrow, and my eye in tears;

    ah, what anguish between this heart, lodged in sorrow, and this eye!

  21. جَميلةُ خَلقٍ سَهلةُ الخُلقِ لينةٌ

    رَقيقَةُ قَلبٍ ثاقِبِ الذهنِ أَحوَذي

    Beautiful in form, easy in temper, gentle,

    tender-hearted, keen-minded, resourceful.

  22. أَجدك لَن تُصغِي لِشاكٍ مُوَلَّهٍ

    جَريحِ فُؤادٍ فيكَ ذي مَدمَعٍ قَذي

    Are you truly never to heed a distraught lamenter,

    wounded at heart for you, with a sore and weeping eye?

  23. تَباخَلتِ حَتّى الطيفُ لَيسَ بِزائِرٍ

    لَدى هَجعَةٍ ساهِي الفُؤادِ مُجَذَّذِ

    You have grown so sparing that even your phantom does not visit

    during the slumber of one distracted and broken-hearted.

  24. يَقي صالِحٌ وَأَحمَدُ وُمُحَمَّدٌ

    وَبلقيسُ كَالأَيتامِ بَعدَ زُمُرُّذِ

    Salih, Ahmad, and Muhammad remain,

    and Bilqis, like orphans after Zumurrud.

  25. وَكانَت لَهُم أُمّاً حَنوناً وَجَدَّةً

    شَفوقاً تُشَهِّيهِم بِكُلِّ تَلَذُّذِ

    She was a tender mother to them, and a grandmother

    full of compassion, indulging their appetites with every delight.

  26. وَتَختارُ أَنواعَ المَطاعِمِ سُكّرٍ

    وَحَلوى وَبانيذٍ لَهُم وَطَبَرزَذِ

    And she chose varieties of food: sugar,

    and sweets and sugar candy for them, and rock sugar.

  27. رَوَت مِن أَحاديثِ الرَسولِ مَسانِداً

    وَكانَ لَها روحٌ بِتَسماعِها غُذي

    She transmitted musnad collections of the Messenger's traditions,

    and her soul was nourished by listening to them—

  28. صَحيحَ بُخارِيٍّ وَمسندَ دارمٍ

    بِسَمعِ إِمامٍ ثابتِ النَقلِ جَهبَذِ

    Bukhari's Sahih and Darimi's Musnad,

    heard from an expert imam, reliable in transmission.

  29. وَرَوَّت بِبَيتِ اللَهِ وَالقُدسِ ما رَوَت

    لِمصريٍّ أَو شاميٍّ أَو مُتَبَغدِذِ

    And at God's House and in Jerusalem, she passed on what she had narrated

    to an Egyptian, a Syrian, or someone settled in Baghdad.

  30. وَحجَّت وَزَارَت مَرَّتَينِ وَقَدَّست

    وَما يَكُ مِن بِرٍّ تُعجِّل وَتنفِذِ

    She made pilgrimage and visitation twice, and visited Jerusalem;

    and whatever good there was, she hastened to carry it out.

  31. قَضى اللَهُ أَن عاشَت وَماتَت سَعيدَةً

    وَلَيسَ امرؤٌ مِما قَضاهُ بِمنفَذِ

    God decreed that she should live and die blessed,

    and no one can escape what He has decreed.

  32. مَضَت وَلَها ذكرٌ جَميلٌ مُخَلّدٌ

    ثَناء كَعَرف المسكِ وَالعَنبَرِ الشَذِي

    She passed away, leaving a fair, enduring remembrance,

    praise like the sweet fragrance of musk and ambergris.

  33. إِلى العالَمِ العُلويِّ راحُوا بِروحِها

    لِروح وَرَيحانٍ وَجَنَّةِ مغتَذِ

    They bore her soul away to the world above,

    for repose, fragrant herbs, and a garden where she is nourished.

  34. وَلَم تَكتَرِث يَوماً بِلِبسٍ وَزينَةٍ

    وَحَليٍ فَتَبدو في النَعيمِ المُلَذّذِ

    She never cared a day for dress or adornment

    or jewelry, to show herself in delightful luxury;

  35. وَلَكن بِجودٍ وَاحتِمالٍ يَزينُها

    بِنَفحٍ لِذي فَقرٍ وَصَفحٍ عَن البَذي

    but generosity and patient endurance adorned her,

    with gifts to the poor and pardon for the foul-mouthed.

  36. مُطَهرةٌ لَفظاً وَقَلباً وَبَرَّةٌ

    مُبَرَّأةٌ عَن كُلِّ ما قادحٍ رَذي

    Pure in speech and heart, and righteous,

    free of all that is discrediting and base.