1. تبَدَّت لَنا حُزوى فَهاجَ جَواها

    نَسيمُ شَمالٍ ضَوَّعَتهُ رُباها

    Huzwa appeared to us, and her heartache was stirred

    By a north wind that its hills had perfumed.

  2. وَلاحَت لَها كُثبانُ رامَةَ فَاِنبَنَت

    تَبَلَّ بِطوفانِ الدُموعِ خُطاها

    And Ramah's dunes appeared to her, and she turned,

    Wetting her tracks with a flood of tears.

  3. حِجازِيَّةٌ أَضحى بِنَجدٍ جِوارُها

    تَحِنُّ إِلَيها صُبحُها وَمَساها

    A Hijazi she-camel, now dwelling in Najd,

    She yearns for it in her mornings and evenings.

  4. يُكَلِّفُها الحادونَ شَوقاً إِلى الحِمى

    وَأَينَ النَقا مِن حاجِرٍ وَحِماها

    The camel-drivers burden her with longing for the protected pasture,

    But where is al-Naqa compared with Hajir and its protected pasture?

  5. بِحَقِّكَ ذَكِّرها العَقيقَ لَعَلَّها

    تَجِد راحَةً في سَيرِها وَعَساها

    By your honor, remind her of al-Aqiq; perhaps she

    Will find relief as she journeys—and may she do so.

  6. وَلا تَحرِموها بِالأُجَيرِعِ وَقفَةً

    فَفي ذَلِكَ الوادي بُلوغِ مُناها

    And do not deny her a halt at al-Ujayri';

    For in that valley lies the fulfillment of her wishes.

  7. هُوَ السَفجُ وَضّاحُ الثَنِيّاتِ زَهرُهُ

    وَرامَة فَيّاحُ النَسيمِ شَذاها

    It is the foothill, its blossoms flashing white teeth,

    And Ramah, whose fragrance perfumes the breeze.

  8. أَرِحها تُمَتِّع مِن تِهامَةَ طَرفِها

    فَقَد حَلَفَت أَلا تَعودَ تَراها

    Give her rest, that her gaze may delight in Tihamah,

    For she has sworn never to see it again.

  9. لَها اللَهُ مِن مَوجوعَةِ القَلبِ فارَقَت

    مَرابِعَها الأولى وَقاعُ قِلاها

    God help her, heart-sore, for she has left

    Her first spring pastures and her desert plain.

  10. إِذا ما حَدى الحادي بِنَجدٍ تَمايَلَت

    كَأَنَّ سُلافَ السَلسَبيل سَقاها

    Whenever the driver sings his camel-song in Najd, she sways,

    As though he had made her drink the finest wine of Salsabil.

  11. يَرومُ بِها مَرمىً بَعيداً عَنِ الحِمى

    وَأَينَ النَقا مِن حاجِرٍ وَحِماها

    He seeks to take her to a destination far from the protected pasture,

    But where is al-Naqa compared with Hajir and its protected pasture?

  12. وَكَيفَ تُسارى في الزمامِ أَمامَها

    وَقَد عَلِمَت أَنَّ العُذَيبَ وَراها

    And how can she be led by night, with the rein before her,

    When she knows that al-Udhayb lies behind her?

  13. يُشَوِّقُها وَقعُ الهَوادِجِ في الضُحى

    إِلى لَمَحاتٍ مِن قِبابِ قِباها

    The thudding of the howdahs in late morning stirs her longing

    For glimpses of the domes of her Quba.

  14. غَدَت تَقطَعُ البيدَ القِفارَ لَعَلَّها

    تبرّد مِن ماءِ العُذَيبِ حَشاها

    She sets off across the barren deserts, hoping

    To cool her breast with the water of al-Udhayb.

  15. فَلَو شَرِبَت ماءَ البِحار لَما رَوى

    لَها ذَلِكَ الماءُ القُراحُ ظَماها

    For even if she drank the seas' water, it would not quench

    Her thirst—that clear, pure water.

  16. جُعِلتُ فِداها وَالنِياقُ بِأَسرِها

    وَلَو أَنصَفَ الحادي لكان فداها

    May I be her ransom, and all the she-camels too;

    And if the driver were fair, he would be her ransom.

  17. أَحِنُّ إِذا حَنَّت وَاِصبو إِذا صَبَت

    وَكَيفَ عَنائي أَن يَكونَ عَناها

    I yearn when she yearns, and pine when she pines.

    But how could my suffering match hers?

  18. كَأَنَّ جَفارَ السَفحِ رَوضُ شَقائِقٍ

    مُرَوَّضَّةٍ مِن دَمعِها وَبُكاها

    As though the waterholes of the foothill were a meadow of anemones,

    Made lush by her tears and her weeping.

  19. خَلا الرَكب مِن صَبٍّ سِويَ كما خَلا

    مِنَ العَيسِ صَبّاً بِالحِجازِ سِواها

    The caravan has no lovelorn one but me, just as

    Among its pale camels, none loves the Hijaz but her.

  20. خَليلَيَّ قَد زارَ الأُجَيرِع نِسمَةً

    مِنَ الخَيفِ يحيى الناشِقينَ هَواها

    My two friends, a breeze has visited al-Ujayri',

    From al-Khayf, its air reviving those who breathe it.

  21. دَعابي وَلُقياها فَقَد ضَمِنَت لَنا

    سُكون خَفوقِ القَلبِ عِندَ لِقاها

    Leave me to meet it, for it has promised us

    The stilling of the heart's flutter when we meet it.

  22. سَلامُ مُشَوِّقٍ كُلَّما هَبَّتِ الصِبا

    جَنوباً تَلَقّى نَشرَها وَشَذاها

    A greeting from one who stirs longing—whenever the east wind blows

    Southward, he welcomes its waft and fragrance—

  23. عَلى الحَيِّ بِالجَرعاءِ حينَ تَيَمَّمَت

    بِهِنَّ المَطايا وَاِستَقَلَّ حِداها

    Upon the clan at al-Jar'a, when there set forth

    The mounts bearing them, and their camel-song rose.

  24. وَما أُمُّ فَرخ بانَ عَنها قَرينها

    تَقَلقَلَ مِن وَجدٍ عَلَيهِ حَشاها

    Neither a nestling's mother whose mate has left her,

    Her breast trembling with longing for him,

  25. وَوَرقاءَ بانٍ فارَقَتها فِراخها

    فَعَزَّ عَلَيها بَعدَهُنَّ بَقاها

    Nor a gray dove in a ban tree whose chicks have left her,

    For whom life after them is hard to bear,

  26. بِأَوجَعَ مِن قَلبي غَداةَ تَرَحَّلَت

    رَكائِبُ مِن سَلمى وَشَطَّ نَواها

    Is more anguished than my heart the morning there departed

    The mounts from Salma, and her distance grew vast.

  27. أَأَحبابَنا بِنتُم عَنِ الخيفِ فَاِشتَكَت

    لِبُعدِكُم آصالَها وَضُحاها

    O our beloveds, you left al-Khayf, and there lamented

    At your absence its evenings and late mornings.

  28. وَفارَقتُمُ الدارَ الأَنيسَةَ فَاِستَوت

    رُبوعُ مَغانيها وَقاعُ قِلاها

    And you left the friendly dwelling, and alike became

    Its inhabited quarters and its desert plain.

  29. كَأَنَّكُمُ يَومَ الرَحيل رَحَلتُمُ

    بِنَومي فَعَيني لا تُصيبُ كَراها

    As though, on the day of departure, you departed

    With my sleep: my eye can find no slumber.

  30. وَكُنتُ شَحيحاً مِن دُموعي بِقَطرَةٍ

    فَقَد صِرتُ سَمحاً بَعدَكُم بِدِماها

    I once grudged even a drop of my tears;

    Now, since you left, I am generous with their blood.

  31. رَعى اللَهُ لَيلاتٍ بِطيبِ حَديثِكُم

    تَقَضَّت وَحَيّاها الحيا وَسَقاها

    May God preserve the nights that, with your sweet conversation,

    Passed away; may the rain greet them and water them.

  32. فَما قُلتُ إيهٍ بَعدَها لِمُسامِرٍ

    مِنَ الناسِ إِلّا قَالَ قَلبِيَ آها

    Never since those nights have I said 'Go on!' to a nighttime companion

    Among people without my heart saying 'Ah!'

  33. يَراني خَليلي باسِماً فَيَظُنُّ بي

    سُروراً وَأَحشايَ الهُمومُ مَلاها

    My friend sees me smiling and imagines in me

    Joy, while cares have filled my breast.

  34. فَكَم ضِحكَةٍ في القَلبِ مِنها حَرارَةٌ

    يَسُبُّ لَظاها لَو كَشَفتَ غِطاها

    How many a laugh leaves a burning heat within the heart,

    Its blaze would flare up if you lifted its covering.

  35. مَتى تَنقَضي أَيّامُ ذُلّي وَاِجتَنى

    ثِمارَ وِصالٍ قَد حُرِمتُ جَناها

    When will the days of my humiliation end, and when shall I gather

    The fruits of reunion, whose harvest I have been denied,

  36. وَأَستَصحِب القَومَ الَّذينَ بِمُهجَتي

    لِفَقدِهِمُ نارٌ يَشُبُّ لَظاها

    And keep company with those for whom, within my heart,

    A fire burns in their absence, its blaze flaring up?

  37. رَمى اللَهُ أَحداثَ الزَمانِ بِصَرفَةٍ

    وَقَيَّضَ لِلأَيّامِ مِثلَ قَضاها

    May God strike time's calamities with a reversal of fortune,

    And ordain for the days a doom like that which they decree.

  38. فَكَم لِليالي مِن صُروفٍ تَرَكنَني

    أَروحُ وَلي حَظُّ شَبيهُ دُجاها

    How many reversals have the nights dealt me, leaving me

    Going at evening with a fortune as dark as their gloom.