1. رأى بَرْقَ العَقيقِ الفَجرَ لاحا

    فتًى فأَسَالَ بالدَّمعِ البِطاحا

    He saw al-Aqiq's lightning flash at dawn—

    a youth who flooded the plains with tears.

  2. وأدركَ من صَبا نجدٍ شَميساً

    فأنَّ للُطفِ نَفحتهِ وضاحا

    And he sensed a little sun in Najd's east wind,

    then moaned, radiant, at its gentle breath.

  3. مُحبٌّ ما أحسَّ بِذكرِ مَيٍّ

    على شَططِ النَّوى إِلاَّ وناحا

    A lover who, whenever Mayy was recalled,

    amid separation's far reaches, would lament.

  4. تَقلَّبَ بالهوى ظَهراً وبَطناً

    على جمرِ الغَضا فَعفا وراحا

    In love he turned upon his back and belly,

    on ghada embers, then faded away and departed.

  5. أعانَ عليهِ لَهفتهُ عُيونٌ

    من الأسيافِ قَدْ حَملتْ سِلاحا

    Eyes aided his yearning against him,

    having taken up swords as weapons.

  6. ومزَّقَ حَيْلهُ نَهْباً قُدودٌ

    على العشَّاقِ قَدْ هزَّتْ رِماحا

    And slender figures plundered his strength, tearing it apart,

    having brandished spears against lovers.

  7. وراحَ بقلبهِ يَمَناً وشاماً

    خُدودٌ بالسَّنا حكتِ الصَّباحا

    And bore his heart away to Yemen and al-Sham—

    cheeks whose radiance mirrored the morning.

  8. تُعلّلُهُ بحُبِّكُمُ الأماني

    فتُعقبُ جُرحَ مُهجتِهِ جِراحا

    Hopes console him with love for you,

    then bring more wounds after his heart's wound.

  9. ومن عَجبٍ تَطيرُ به إليكمْ

    وتَعقدُ في جوانبهِ جَناحا

    And strangely, they fly him toward you,

    and bind a wing within his sides.

  10. ألا يا ساكنينَ فجاجَ قلبي

    ويا منْ صيَّروهُ لهمْ مُباحا

    Ah, you who dwell in the ravines of my heart,

    and you who have made it freely your own!

  11. كفاني في الهَوَى هَجري فإنِّي

    أُغَصُّ بشُرْبيَ الماءَ القُراحا

    I have had enough of being forsaken in love, for I

    choke as I drink pure water.

  12. وللشَّوقِ المُلِحِّ فُنونُ سُكرٍ

    متى لعِبتْ بعقْلِ المرءِ باحا

    And relentless longing has many kinds of intoxication:

    whenever they toy with a person's mind, he speaks openly.

  13. فيا عَجباً لها نَفثاتِ خَمرٍ

    تُورِّثُ كلَّ ذي بُخلٍ سَماحا

    So how wondrous they are, those breaths of wine,

    which bequeath generosity to every miser,

  14. وتولي الألْكنَ المَعْقودَ نُطقاً

    ويُلْكِنُ عقدُها العربَ الفِصاحا

    and give speech to the tongue-tied stammerer,

    while its binding makes eloquent Arabs tongue-tied.

  15. بقاموسِ البلاغةِ منْ معاني

    جَوهرها نرى الفُلذَ الصِّحاحا

    In eloquence's ocean, among the meanings

    of its essence, we see intact nuggets.

  16. ونأخذُ في الهَوَى طَوراً فَطوراً

    ونشكُرُ في نَواحيها النَّواحا

    And we enter into love, stage after stage,

    and give thanks for lamentation within its reaches.

  17. فُنونٌ تدفعُ الأكْدارَ عنَّا

    وتُثبتُ في سَرائرنا فَلاحا

    Arts that drive troubles away from us,

    and establish felicity in our inmost hearts,

  18. تُعلِّمُنا الوُلوعَ بأهلِ أرضٍ

    يُخفِّفُ ريمُها الأُسدَ الرِّجاحا

    teach us devotion to the people of a land

    whose gazelle makes the weighty lions light.

  19. جلتْ منَّا العُيونَ بهمْ فَضاءتْ

    مَعانٍ نشرُها في الكونِ فاحا

    They polished our eyes through them, and there shone

    meanings whose fragrance wafted throughout the universe.

  20. متى تُليَتْ مَثانيهم علينا

    شَربْناها فَصارَ القولُ راحا

    Whenever their oft-repeated verses are recited to us,

    we drink them, and speech becomes wine.

  21. سلامُ اللهِ يَشملهُمْ مساءً

    وينقُشُ بُردَ مَشهدهِمْ صَباحا

    May God's peace embrace them at evening,

    and embroider their shrine's mantle in the morning.