يا صاح لي خل ساني

بين البقر

Friend, I have a water-drawer for a beloved,

among the cattle,

لابس قميص رنج ثاني

بلا مصر

wearing a shirt of another hue,

without a headwrap.

وشاربه حلبباني

طريق ذر

And his moustache is ḥalabbānī [meaning uncertain],

a trail of tiny ants.

يعرد بميضاف جنونه

أين حسام

He rushes with the mīḍāf of his frenzy [wording uncertain]—

where is a sword?

شريم صارم عيون

يبرى العظام

His eyes—a sickle, a keen blade—

whittle away the bones.

ما جهد معشوق غاني

غلبه ظهر

This lovely beloved needs no effort;

his triumph is plain.

قد جر حبلى ولواه

عقل الصميل

He has pulled my rope and twisted it

into a tether for the stout staff.

وكان لي قلب يهواه

وهو يميل

And I had a heart that loved him,

and it inclined toward him.

وللآن صوفان تفاداه

طلع عليل

And still, tinder-like, it has shunned him;

it has become ailing.

واعيان ثنتين صيانى

لكن مدر

And two eyes like trays,

but made of clay.