1. إِنْ تَبدُّوا أَوْ تَثنُّوا

    فَبُدورٌ في غُصُونِ

    If they appear or sway,

    Then they are full moons among boughs;

  2. أو رَنوْا ظَبْيَ كِناسٍ

    أو سَطوْا لَيْثَ عَرينِ

    Or gaze like a gazelle in its covert,

    Or pounce like a lion in its den.

  3. مَزجُوا الوَصْلَ بِهَجْرٍ

    لِمَنايا وَمَنُونِ

    They mingled union with estrangement,

    Bringing death and doom.

  4. وَلَكَمْ بِالهَجْرِ أَجْرَوْا

    لِعُيونٍ مِنْ عُيوني

    And how often, through estrangement, they made flow

    Springs from my eyes.

  5. حُبُّهم رُوحي وَراحي

    وهُوَ دُنْيايَ وَدِيني

    Love for them is my soul and my wine,

    And it is my world and my faith.

  6. أَنَا لا أَسْمَعُ عَذْلاً

    فِيهمُ إنْ عَذلُوني

    I listen to no reproach

    About them, even if they reproach me.

  7. الأَماني خَبَّرتني

    بِرِضاهُمْ عَنْ يَقينِ

    Hopes have told me

    Of their favor, with certainty.

  8. إِنَّهُمْ عَرَبٌ كِرامٌ

    فِي هَواهُمْ يُنْصِفُوني

    They are indeed noble Arabs;

    They treat me fairly in my love for them.

  9. كَمْ أَضلُّوني بِشَعْرٍ

    وَهَدُوني بِجَبينِ

    How often they led me astray with their hair,

    And guided me with their brow.