مَتَى يَعْطِفُ الجانِي وَتُقْضَى وعُودُهُ

مَتَى يَعْطِفُ الجانِي وَتُقْضَى وعُودُهُ

فَقَدْ طَالَ مِنْهُ هَجْرُهُ وصُدودُهُ

فَقَدْ طَالَ مِنْهُ هَجْرُهُ وصُدودُهُ

When will the wrongdoer relent and his promises be fulfilled?

When will the offender show mercy, and fulfill his promises?

For his abandonment and aversion have lasted so long.

For his estrangement has been long, and his hostility.

أَشدُّ نِفَاراً مِنْ مَنامِي عَطْفُهُ

أَشدُّ نِفَاراً مِنْ مَنامِي عَطْفُهُ

وَأَكْذَبُ مِنْ طَيْفِ الخَيالِ وُعُودُهُ

وَأَكْذَبُ مِنْ طَيْفِ الخَيالِ وُعُودُهُ

His tenderness is more elusive than my sleep,

More abhorrent to me than my dreams is his kindness,

And his promises are falser than a phantom of fancy.

And his vows are more false than the ghosts of delusion.

هِلالٌ بَعيدُ النَّيْلِ مَنْ ذَا يَرومُهُ

هِلالٌ بَعيدُ النَّيْلِ مَنْ ذَا يَرومُهُ

ومَرْعىً خَصِيبُ الرَّوضِ مَنْ ذَا يَرُودُهُ

ومَرْعىً خَصِيبُ الرَّوضِ مَنْ ذَا يَرُودُهُ

A crescent far beyond reach—who can aspire to him?

A crescent far from fulfillment - who can attain it?

And a pasture of lush meadows—who can seek him out?

And a lush meadow - who can lead their camels to graze it?

يَسُلُّ سُيُوفَ اللَّحْظِ مِنْهُ فَبِيضُهُ

يَسُلُّ سُيُوفَ اللَّحْظِ مِنْهُ فَبِيضُهُ

إِذَا رامَ فَتْكَاً في المُحبِّين سُودُهُ

إِذَا رامَ فَتْكَاً في المُحبِّين سُودُهُ

He unsheathes the swords of his glance; his white blades,

His glances unsheathe swords against me while sheathed towards others,

When he means to slaughter lovers, are his black eyes.

When he seeks to kill those who love him, through them he is lethal.

إِذَا أَسَرَتْ صَبّاً سَلاسِلُ شَعْرِهِ

إِذَا أَسَرَتْ صَبّاً سَلاسِلُ شَعْرِهِ

فَذَاكَ الَّذي ما إِنْ تُفَكَّ قُيُودُهُ

فَذَاكَ الَّذي ما إِنْ تُفَكَّ قُيُودُهُ

If the chains of his hair take a lovesick lover captive,

When his hair entraps morning light in its chains,

Then that is one whose fetters are never undone.

That's when his shackles cannot be undone.

يَسُوقُ إِلى قَلْبِي الضَّنَا ويقُودُهُ

يَسُوقُ إِلى قَلْبِي الضَّنَا ويقُودُهُ

ويَطْرُدُ عَنْ جَفْنِي الكَرَى ويذُودُهُ

ويَطْرُدُ عَنْ جَفْنِي الكَرَى ويذُودُهُ

He drives wasting sickness to my heart and leads it there,

He brings sorrow to my heart, steering it,

And drives sleep from my eyelid and keeps it away.

And drives away sleep from my eyes, warding it off.

يُريني قَضِيبَ البانِ مِنْهُ نُهُوضُهُ

يُريني قَضِيبَ البانِ مِنْهُ نُهُوضُهُ

ويَحْكي كَثِيبَ الرَّمْلِ مِنْهُ قُعُودُهُ

ويَحْكي كَثِيبَ الرَّمْلِ مِنْهُ قُعُودُهُ

When he rises, he shows me a bough of the bān tree;

He shows me his firm stance, his rising up,

And when he sits, he resembles a dune of sand.

And tells of his stillness, his sitting down.

وَإِنْ جِئْتُ أَبْغي وَصْلَهُ زَادَ صَدَّهُ

وَإِنْ جِئْتُ أَبْغي وَصْلَهُ زَادَ صَدَّهُ

كَأَنِّي منُ هِجْرانِهِ اسْتَزِيدُهُ

كَأَنِّي منُ هِجْرانِهِ اسْتَزِيدُهُ

And if I come seeking union with him, he spurns me all the more,

And if I come desiring his affection, he increases his rejection,

As though I were asking him to forsake me still more.

As if by his estrangement, I have asked for more.

كأنّا قَسَمْنا نِصْفَ شَعْبَان بَيْنَنَا

كأنّا قَسَمْنا نِصْفَ شَعْبَان بَيْنَنَا

عَلى حُكْم ما يُرْضِي الهَوَى ويُريدُهُ

عَلى حُكْم ما يُرْضِي الهَوَى ويُريدُهُ

As though we had divided mid-Shaʿbān between us,

It's as if we divided Sha'ban between us,

According to the dictates of what pleases love and what it desires:

Based on what would please passion, and what it desires.

حَلَاوَتُهُ في ثَغْرِهِ وَكَلامِهِ

حَلَاوَتُهُ في ثَغْرِهِ وَكَلامِهِ

ونِيرَانُهُ في مُهْجَتِي وَوَقِيْدُهُ

ونِيرَانُهُ في مُهْجَتِي وَوَقِيْدُهُ

Its sweetness is in his mouth and his speech,

His sweetness in his mouth and his speech,

And its fires and its blaze are in my heart's core.

And his fires in my innermost heart, and his fuel.