عَلى مِثْلِها مِنْ فَجْعَةٍ خانَني الصَّبرُ

عَلى مِثْلِها مِنْ فَجْعَةٍ خانَني الصَّبرُ

فِراقُ حَبيبٍ دُونَ أَوبَتِهِ الحَشْرُ

فِراقُ حَبيبٍ دُونَ أَوبَتِهِ الحَشْرُ

In a calamity like this, patience has betrayed me:

In sorrow like this, patience has betrayed me,

Parting from a beloved whose return must await the Resurrection.

Parting with a beloved, while his burial shroud was prepared.

وَلي كَبدٌ مَشطورَةٌ في يَدِ الأَسى

وَلي كَبدٌ مَشطورَةٌ في يَدِ الأَسى

فَتَحْتَ الثَّرى شَطْرٌ وفَوْقَ الثَّرى شَطرُ

فَتَحْتَ الثَّرى شَطْرٌ وفَوْقَ الثَّرى شَطرُ

And my liver is split in two in sorrow's hand:

My liver is torn apart in the hands of anguish,

So one half lies beneath the soil, and one half above it.

The earth split open halfway, and above the earth as well.

يَقولونَ لي صَبِّرْ فُؤادَكَ بَعْدَهُ

يَقولونَ لي صَبِّرْ فُؤادَكَ بَعْدَهُ

فَقُلتُ لهُمْ ما لِي فؤادٌ ولا صَبْرُ

فَقُلتُ لهُمْ ما لِي فؤادٌ ولا صَبْرُ

They tell me, 'Bid your heart be patient after him.'

They tell me be patient after him, console your heart,

So I said to them, 'I have neither a heart nor patience.'

I said to them, I have no heart or patience.

فُرَيْخٌ مِنَ الحُمْرِ الحَواصلِ ما اكْتَسى

فُرَيْخٌ مِنَ الحُمْرِ الحَواصلِ ما اكْتَسى

مِنَ الرِّيشِ حَتَّى ضَمَّهُ المَوْتُ والقَبْرُ

مِنَ الرِّيشِ حَتَّى ضَمَّهُ المَوْتُ والقَبْرُ

A little red-cropped chick had not yet clothed himself

A fledgling, still featherless, seized from the nest

In feathers before death and the grave enfolded him.

By death and the grave before it could fully grow.

إذَا قُلْتُ أَسْلو عَنْهُ هَاجَتْ بَلابِلٌ

إذَا قُلْتُ أَسْلو عَنْهُ هَاجَتْ بَلابِلٌ

يُجَدِّدُها فِكْرٌ يُجَدِّدُهُ ذِكْرُ

يُجَدِّدُها فِكْرٌ يُجَدِّدُهُ ذِكْرُ

Whenever I say, 'I shall cease grieving for him,' torments surge,

When I speak his name, passions are kindled,

Renewed by thought, itself renewed by remembrance.

Thoughts renewed, his memory reawakened.

وَأَنْظُرُ حَوْلي لا أرَى غَيرَ قَبرِهِ

وَأَنْظُرُ حَوْلي لا أرَى غَيرَ قَبرِهِ

كأنَّ جميعَ الأَرضِ عِنْدِي لَهُ قَبرُ

كأنَّ جميعَ الأَرضِ عِنْدِي لَهُ قَبرُ

And I look around me: I see nothing but his grave,

I look around me, I see only his grave,

As though all the earth, to me, were a grave for him.

As if for me, the whole world is just his tomb.

أَفَرْخَ جِنَانِ الخُلْدِ طِرْتَ بِمُهْجَتي

أَفَرْخَ جِنَانِ الخُلْدِ طِرْتَ بِمُهْجَتي

وَليْسَ سِوى قَعْرِ الضَّريحِ لَهُ وَكرُ

وَليْسَ سِوى قَعْرِ الضَّريحِ لَهُ وَكرُ

O fledgling of the gardens of eternity, you flew off with my lifeblood,

You took flight to the gardens of eternity, my heart,

And his only nest is the bottom of the tomb.

Leaving me no solace but the depths of your tomb.