1. تنسّم هذه نفحات نجد

    تأرج عرفُها فأثار وجدي

    Breathe in: these are the fragrant breezes of Najd.

    Their scent wafted, stirring my longing.

  2. سرت من أرضهم سحراً فخلنا

    فتيق المسك خالط ماء وردِ

    They traveled from their land before dawn, so we imagined

    Unsealed musk had mingled with rosewater.

  3. وجرّت في مغانيهم ذيولا

    فأهدت نحونا أرواح ندِّ

    And they trailed their skirts through their dwellings,

    And brought us the fragrances of incense.

  4. تذكرني صباباتي صباها

    فتهمى أدمعى سحّا نجدي

    Its east wind reminds me of my ardent longings,

    And my tears pour in torrents, O my Najd.

  5. إذا سجعت بدوح البان ورقٌ

    أحنّ إلى مغاني أهل ودي

    When grey doves coo in the spreading moringa trees,

    I yearn for the dwellings of those I love.

  6. وإن صدحت بصرحة جزع واد

    يذكرني الوفاء قديم عهدي

    And if they sing in a tall tree at a valley's bend,

    Loyalty recalls to me my old pledge.

  7. فيا شادي الغصون أصخ قليلاً

    أبثّك يا حمام أليم وقدي

    So, O singer in the branches, listen a little;

    I confide to you, O doves, my painful burning.

  8. ويا حادي الرفاق ألا فبلّغ

    سلام فتى شجاه طول بعدِ

    And O driver of the travelers, pray convey

    The greetings of a youth grieved by long separation.

  9. يجلّ غرامه عن درك وصف

    ويعظم شوقه عن حصرٍ عدِّ

    His passion lies beyond the reach of description,

    And his longing beyond the bounds of counting.

  10. دعاه الشوق نحوهم فلبّى

    وبات حليف أشجان وسهدِ

    Longing called him toward them, and he answered,

    And spent the night an ally of sorrows and sleeplessness.

  11. على ما فاته قد ذاب حزنا

    وهل حزن على ما فات يجدي

    He has melted in grief over what he has missed;

    And does grief over what is gone avail?

  12. وهبكم أنكم عنه فصمتُم

    وبلغَ منكم آمال قصدِ

    And suppose that you have broken away from him,

    And he has attained from you the hopes of his quest:

  13. أيرجع سالف من عمره قد

    مضى مقرون أوقات بصَدِّ

    Can the bygone part of his life return, which has already

    Passed with its hours bound up with rejection?

  14. دعوني أسكب العبرات حزناً

    على نفسي فذاك الرأى عندي

    Let me pour out tears in sorrow

    Over myself—for that is the course I favor.

  15. عسى ماء المدامع فيك يطفى

    لهيب تلهّب يذكى بوقدِ

    Perhaps the water of tears shed for you will quench

    The flaring flame, stoked by burning.