ولَيلٍ مثلِ يومِ البَيْنِ طُولاً

ولَيلٍ مثلِ يومِ البَيْنِ طُولاً

كأَنَّ ظَلامَهُ لَوْنُ الصُّدودِ

كأَنَّ ظَلامَهُ لَوْنُ الصُّدودِ

And a night as long as the day of parting,

The night of separation is as long as a day

as though its darkness were the color of rejection.

Its darkness is the hue of estrangement

بياضُ هِلالِهِ فيهِ سَوادٌ

بياضُ هِلالِهِ فيهِ سَوادٌ

كَإِثْرِ اللَّطمِ في يَقَقِ الخُدودِ

كَإِثْرِ اللَّطمِ في يَقَقِ الخُدودِ

The whiteness of its crescent is blackness within it,

The crescent's paleness in it is blackness

like the mark of a slap on the pure whiteness of cheeks.

Like the scar of slaps on hollow cheeks