1. طائرٌ يشدو على فننِ

    جدَّد الذكرى لذي شجنِ

    A bird sings upon a bough;

    it has rekindled remembrance for one in sorrow.

  2. قام والأكوانُ صامتةٌ

    ونسيمُ الصُّبْحِ في وَهَنِ

    It rose while all creation was silent,

    and the morning breeze was faint.

  3. هاج في نفسي وقد هدأتْ

    لوعةً لولاه لم تكنِ

    It stirred in my soul, though it had grown calm,

    a burning grief that, but for it, would never have been.

  4. هزَّه شوقٌ إلى سكنٍ

    فبكى للأهل والسَّكَنِ

    Longing for a home shook it;

    so it wept for its kin and dwelling.

  5. وَيْكَ لا تجزعْ لنازلةٍ

    ما لطيرِ الجوِّ من وطنِ

    Ah, do not despair at a calamity:

    a bird of the sky has no homeland.

  6. قد يراكَ الصُّبحُ في «حلبٍ»

    ويراكَ الليلُ في «عدنِ»

    Morning may see you in Aleppo,

    and night may see you in Aden.

  7. أنتَ في خضراءَ ضاحكةٍ

    من بكاءِ العارضِ الهَتِنِ

    You dwell in a green land that smiles

    from the weeping of the steadily raining cloud.

  8. أنتَ في شجراءَ وارفةٍ

    تاركٌ غصناً إلى غصن

    You dwell in a grove of spreading shade,

    leaving one branch for another,

  9. عابثٌ بالزَّهرِ مغتبطٌ

    ناعمٌ في الحِلّ والظَّعَن

    frolicking with flowers, full of joy,

    at ease in staying and journeying.

  10. في ظلالٍ حولها نَهَرٌ

    غيرُ مسنونٍ ولا أَسِن

    In shade, with a river around it,

    neither tainted nor stale,

  11. في يديكَ الريحُ تُرسلها

    كيفما تهوى بلا رسن

    the wind is in your hands; you send it forth

    as you please, with no bridle.

  12. يا سليمانَ الزمانِ أفقْ

    ليس للّذات من ثمن

    O Solomon of this age, awake!

    Pleasures cost nothing.

  13. وابعثِ الألحانَ مطربةً

    يا حياةَ العينِ والأُذن

    And send forth enchanting melodies,

    O life of eye and ear!

  14. غَنِّ بالدنيا وزينتِها

    ونظامِ الكونِ والسُّنَن

    Sing of the world and its adornment,

    and of the order of the universe and its laws,

  15. وبقيعانٍ هبطتَ بها

    وبما شاهدتَ من مُدُن

    and of the plains where you have alighted,

    and of the cities you have seen,

  16. وبأزهار الصباحِ وقد

    نهضتْ من غفوة الوسن

    and of the morning's flowers, when they

    have risen from the doze of slumber,

  17. وبقلب شفَّه وَلَهٌ

    حافظٍ للعهد لم يَخُن

    and of a heart worn thin by yearning,

    faithful to its pledge, never false.

  18. كلُّ شيءٍ في الدُّنا حَسَنٌ

    أيُّ شيءٍ ليس بالحسن؟

    Everything in this world is beautiful;

    what is there that is not beautiful?

  19. خالقُ الأكوان كالئُها

    واسعُ الإحسانِ والمنن

    The Creator of all worlds, their guardian,

    is boundless in kindness and gifts.

  20. كان لي إلفٌ فأَبعدهُ

    قَدَرٌ عنّي وأبعدني

    I had a beloved companion, but he was driven far away

    by fate, away from me, and I from him.

  21. أنا مَدَّ الدهرِ أذكرهُ

    وهو مَدَّ الدهرِ يذكرني

    I remember him throughout all time,

    and he remembers me throughout all time.

  22. قد بنينا العشَّ من مُهجٍ

    غُسِلتْ من حَوْبة الدَّرَن

    We built our nest from hearts

    washed clean of sin's defilement.

  23. من لَدُنْهُ الودُّ أَخلَصَهُ

    والوفا والطهرُ من لَدُنِي

    From him came love, which he made pure,

    and loyalty and purity came from me.

  24. كانتِ الأطيارُ تحسدهُ

    جنَّةَ المأوى وتحسدني

    The birds used to envy him

    that paradise of refuge, and envy me as well.

  25. وظنَنَّا أنْ نعيش بهِ

    عيشةَ المستعصمِ الأَمِن

    And we thought we would live in it

    the life of one sheltered and secure.

  26. فرمتْ كفُّ الزمان بهِ

    فكأنَّ العُشَّ لم يكن

    Then the hand of time cast it away,

    as though the nest had never been.

  27. طار من حولي وخلّفني

    للجوى والبثّ والحَزَن

    He flew away from me and left me

    to burning grief, anguish, and sorrow.

  28. ونأى عنّي وما برحتْ

    نازعاتُ الشَّوق تطرقني

    He went far from me, yet still

    the wrenching pangs of longing assail me.

  29. ومضى والوجدُ يسبقهُ

    ودموعُ العين تسبقني

    He went away, yearning preceding him,

    and tears from my eyes run ahead of me.

  30. إنْ تزرْ يا طيرُ دوحتَهُ

    بين زهرٍ ناضرٍ وجَنِي

    If, O bird, you visit his great tree,

    amid fresh blossoms and ripe fruit,

  31. وشهدتَ «التِّمْسَ» مُضطرباً

    واثباً كالصافن الأَرِن

    and see the Thames in turmoil,

    leaping like a poised, spirited steed,

  32. عبثتْ ريحُ الشمال بهِ

    فطغى غيظاً على السُّفن

    the north wind having toyed with it,

    so that it surges in fury against the ships,

  33. فانشُدِ الأطيارَ واحدَها

    في الحُلَى والحُسن والجَدَن

    then seek among the birds their peerless one

    in adornment, beauty, and sweetness of voice.

  34. وتريَّثْ في المقال لهُ

    قد يكون الموتُ في اللَّسَن!

    And be deliberate in speaking to him:

    death may lie in eloquence!

  35. صِفْ له يا طيرُ ما لقيتْ

    مُهجتِي في الحبّ من غَبَن

    Describe to him, O bird, what has befallen

    my heart in love: the wrong it has suffered.

  36. صفْ له روحاً مُعذَّبةً

    ضاق عن آلامها بدني

    Describe to him a tormented soul

    whose pains my body is too narrow to contain.

  37. صفْ له عيناً مُقرَّحةً

    لأبيِّ الدمعِ لم تَصُن

    Describe to him an ulcerated eye

    that held back no unruly tears.

  38. يا خليلي والهوى إِحَنٌ

    لا رماكَ اللهُ بالإحَن

    O my dear friend—love is bitter strife—

    may God never strike you with such strife.

  39. إنْ رأيتَ العينَ ناعسةً

    فترقّبْ يقظةَ الفِتَن!

    If you see the eye languid,

    watch for the awakening of temptations!

  40. أو رأيتَ القَدَّ في هَيَفٍ

    فاتّخذْ ما شئتَ من جُنَن

    Or see a figure slender at the waist,

    then take whatever shields you wish.

  41. قد نعمنا بالهوى زمناً

    وشقينا آخرَ الزمن!

    We delighted in love for a time,

    and suffered in time's latter days!