يا نسيم الجنوب بالله بلغ

ما يَقُولُ المتَيَّمُ المستَهامُ

O breeze of the south, by God, convey

what the love-stricken, love-distraught one says.

قل لأحبابه فداكُم فُؤادٌ

ليس يَسلُو ومُقلةٌ لا تنامُ

Tell his beloveds: "May you be ransomed by a heart

that finds no solace, and an eye that never sleeps."

بِنتُم فالسَّهادُ عندي مُقيمٌ

مذ نأيتُم والعَيشُ عِندي حِمَامُ

You departed, and sleeplessness dwells with me;

since you went far away, life to me is death.

فعلى الكَرخِ فالقطيعةِ فالش

شَط فَبابِ الشَّعيرِ منِّي السَّلامُ

To al-Karkh, then al-Qatiʿa, then

al-Shatt, then Bab al-Shaʿir, my greetings.

يا ديارَ السُّرورِ لا زالَ يبكي

بِكِ في مضحكِ الرِّياض غَمَامُ

O abodes of joy, may clouds never cease to weep

over you, where the gardens smile.

رُبَّ عَيشٍ صَحبتُه فيك غَضٌّ

وجُفونُ الخُطوبِ عَنِّي نِيامُ

How often the life I lived in you was fresh,

while the eyelids of calamities slept, oblivious to me.

في ليالٍ كأنهنَّ أمانٌ

من زمانٍ كأنَّه أحلامُ

In nights that seemed a haven,

from a time that seemed like dreams.

وكأن الأوقاتَ فيها كُؤُوسٌ

دائراتٌ وأنسُهنَّ مُدَامٌ

And the hours within them seemed like cups,

passed around, their convivial joy the wine.

زَمَنٌ مسُعدٌ وإلفٌ وَصُولٌ

ومُنىً تستلذُّها الأوهامُ

A time of happiness, a devoted companion,

and wishes the imagination savored.

كُلُّ أُنسٍ ولَذَّةٍ وسُرورٍ

بَعد ما بِنتُم عليَّ حرام

All companionship, pleasure, and joy

are forbidden to me since you departed.

وَكَأَيِّن من مَعشَرٍ في أُنا

سٍ أخوهم فوقهمُ وهم كِرامُ

And many a company among

people has a brother above them, noble though they are.