1. قَلبٌ يَذوبُ وَمَدمَعٌ يَجري

    يا لَيلُ هَل خَبَرٌ عَنِ الفَجرِ

    A heart melts, and an eye streams with tears.

    O night, is there any news of dawn?

  2. حالَت نُجومُكَ دونَ مَطلَعِهِ

    لا تَبتَغي حِوَلاً وَلا يَسري

    Your stars have barred the way to its rising;

    They seek no change of place, nor does it journey on.

  3. وَتَطاوَلَت جُنحاً فَخُيِّلَ لي

    أَنَّ الصَباحَ رَهينَةُ الحَشرِ

    And they lingered in the night's darkness, till I fancied

    That morning was held captive until the Resurrection.

  4. أَرسَيتَها وَمَلَكتَ مَذهَبَها

    بِدُجُنَّةٍ كَسَريرَةِ الدَهرِ

    You anchored them and controlled their course

    With darkness like the hidden heart of Time.

  5. ظُلُمٌ تَجيءُ بِها وَتُرجِعُها

    وَالمَوجُ مُنقَلِبٌ إِلى البَحرِ

    Layers of darkness you bring and send back,

    And the waves turn back toward the sea.

  6. لَيتَ الكَرى موسى فَيورِدَها

    فِرعَونُ هَذا السُهدِ وَالفِكرِ

    Would that sleep were Moses, to lead into them

    The Pharaoh of this sleeplessness and thought.

  7. وَلَقَد أَقولُ لِهاتِفٍ سحراً

    يَبكي لِغَيرِ نَوىً وَلا أَسرِ

    And indeed I say to a caller before dawn,

    Who weeps, though not for separation or captivity:

  8. وَالرَوضُ أَخرَسُ غَيرَ وَسوَسَةٍ

    خَفَقَ الغُصونِ وَجِريَةِ الغَدرِ

    And the garden is mute, save for a whisper—

    The flutter of branches and the flow of pools.

  9. وَالطَيرُ مِلءُ الأَيكِ أَرؤُسُها

    مِثلُ الثِمارِ بَدَت مِنَ السِدرِ

    And birds fill the grove, their heads

    Appearing like fruit among the lote trees.

  10. أَلقى الجَناحَ وَناءَ بِالصَدرِ

    وَرَنا بِصَفراوَينِ كَالتِبرِ

    He let his wing droop, his breast heaving,

    And gazed with two yellow eyes like raw gold.

  11. كَلَمَ السُهادُ بُيوتَ هُدبِهِما

    وَأَقامَ بَينَ رُسومِها الحُمرِ

    Sleeplessness wounded the homes of their lashes

    And settled among their red ruins.

  12. تَهدا جَوانِحُهُ فَتَحسَبُهُ

    مِن صَنعَةِ الأَيدي أَوِ السِحرِ

    His breast grows still, and you would take him

    For the work of hands or of magic.

  13. وَتَثورُ فَهوَ عَلى الغُصونِ يَدٌ

    عَلِقَت أَنامِلُها مِنَ الجَمرِ

    Then it surges: upon the branches he is a hand

    Whose fingertips have caught fire from the embers.

  14. يا طَيرُ بُثَّ أَخاكَ ما يَجري

    إِنّا كِلانا مَوضِعُ السِرِّ

    O bird, tell your brother what is happening;

    Indeed, we are both repositories of secrets.

  15. بي مِثلُ ما بِكَ مِن جَوىً وَنَوىً

    أَنا في الأَنامِ وَأَنتَ في القُمرِ

    In me is the same burning grief and separation as in you:

    I among humankind, and you among the turtledoves.

  16. عَبَثَ الغَرامُ بِنا وَرَوَّعَنا

    أَنا بِالمَلامِ وَأَنتَ بِالزَجرِ

    Love has toyed with us and terrified us:

    Me with reproach, and you with rebuke.

  17. يا طَيرُ لا تَجزَع لِحادِثَةٍ

    كُلُّ النُفوسِ رَهائِنُ الضَرِّ

    O bird, do not be distraught by a calamity;

    All souls are hostages to affliction.

  18. فيما دَهاكَ لَوِ اِطَّلَعتَ رِضىً

    شَرٌّ أَخَفُّ عَلَيكَ مِن شَرِّ

    In what befell you, if you but knew, lies contentment:

    One evil is lighter upon you than another.

  19. يا طَيرُ كَدرُ العَيشِ لَو تَدري

    في صَفوِهِ وَالصَفوُ في الكَدرِ

    O bird, the murk of life, if you but knew,

    Is in its clarity, and clarity is in the murk.

  20. وَإِذا الأُمورُ اِستُصعِبَت صَعُبَت

    وَيَهونُ ما هَوَّنتَ مِن أَمرِ

    And when matters are deemed hard, they become hard;

    And whatever matter you make easy becomes easy.

  21. يا طَيرُ لَو لُذنا بِمُصطَبَرٍ

    فَلَعَلَّ روحَ اللَهِ في الصَبرِ

    O bird, if we took refuge in patient endurance,

    Then perhaps God's relief lies in patience.

  22. وَعَسى الأَمانِيُّ العِذابُ لَنا

    عَونٌ عَلى السُلوانِ وَالهَجرِ

    And may sweet hopes be for us

    A help in finding solace and letting go.