1. ألا ليت شعري والفؤاد به ثأر

    وفي العمر إسراع وفي الدهر إدبار

    Oh, would that I knew—my heart harbors a thirst for vengeance,

    And life hastens on while time turns away—

  2. هل العيش في حي الأحبة راجع

    وهل قد جرت بالعود يا سعد أقدار

    Will life in the loved ones' quarter return?

    And have the fates decreed a return, O Sa'd?

  3. فقد منعتني عن لقاهم موانع

    وقد قصرت بي دون ذلك أعذار

    For obstacles have prevented me from meeting them,

    And excuses have held me back from that.

  4. ولي أرب لم ينقضي بعد في الحمى

    ولي ثم أحباب ولي ثم أوطار

    And I have a desire not yet fulfilled in the sanctuary,

    And there I have loved ones, and there I have desires.

  5. ولي شجن فيهم ولي ولع بهم

    ولي مدمع في البين في الخد مدرار

    And I grieve for them, and am passionately attached to them;

    And in separation my tears stream down my cheek.

  6. ولي زفرة تعلو متى ما ذكرتهم

    وكم بي من فرط الصبابة آثار

    And a sigh rises from me whenever I remember them;

    And how many marks of overwhelming longing I bear!

  7. أسير هوى تسمو به نسمة الصبا

    إذا ما سرت من حيهم وهي معطار

    A captive of love, whom a breath of the east wind lifts,

    When it wafts by night from their quarter, fragrant with perfume.

  8. وتذكره قرب الأحبة واللقا

    سحيراً إذا غنت على الأيك أطيار

    And it reminds him of nearness to the loved ones and reunion,

    Just before dawn, when birds sing in the groves.

  9. ويأخذه كالسكر طيباً ونشوة

    إذا ذكروا والراح ذكر وتذكار

    And it seizes him like intoxication, with delight and rapture,

    When they are recalled—remembrance and recollection are the wine.

  10. رعى اللَه جيران الأباطح والصفا

    فقد جاوروني بالجميل وما جاروا

    May God protect the neighbors of al-Abatih and al-Safa,

    For they were kind neighbors to me and never wronged me.

  11. وأما واهم والغرام فقد سطا

    عليَّ ولا لوم عليهم ولا عار

    And as for this deluded one, passion has indeed assailed

    Me; no blame falls on them, and no shame.

  12. فإني رضيت الموت فيهم صبابة

    وإني مرتاد لذاك ومختار

    For I have accepted death for them, out of passionate longing,

    And I seek it out and willingly choose it.

  13. ولا أنثني عن حبهم وودادهم

    وإن طالت الأيام وانتزح الدار

    And I will not turn away from loving them and holding them dear,

    Even if the days stretch on and the abode grows distant.

  14. وما أنا بالناسي عهود أحبتي

    وإن لم أزرهم في الزمان ولا زاروا

    Nor will I forget the pledges of my loved ones,

    Even if I have not visited them in this time, nor they me.

  15. فقد خالطت كلي بشاشة حبه

    وهم في ربا قلبي سكون وحضار

    For the gladness of his love has mingled with my whole being,

    And they dwell on the heights of my heart, ever present.

  16. بقية قوم قد مضوا وخلفتهم

    وهم خلفون في الحمى بعد ما ساروا

    A remnant of a people who have gone before—and I have succeeded them;

    And they are successors in the sanctuary after the others have gone.

  17. ومقتبس من نورهم وبسرهم

    عنيت وأنوار لديهم وأسرار

    And I draw from their light, and with their secret

    I concern myself; they possess lights and secrets.

  18. وليس معي إلا انكسار وذلة

    وفقر وذنب والمهيمن غفار

    And I have nothing but brokenness and lowliness,

    And poverty and sin—and the Guardian is ever-forgiving.

  19. ولي أمل في الله جل جلاله

    وظن جميل لم تغيره أغيار

    And I have hope in God, exalted is His majesty,

    And a hopeful trust that no vicissitudes have changed.

  20. ولي من رسول الله جدي عناية

    ووجه وإمداد وإرث وآثار

    And I have the care of God's Messenger, my forefather,

    And standing, support, inheritance, and traces.

  21. عليه صلاة اللَه ثم سلامه

    يدور بها بعد العشية أبكار

    Upon him be God's blessing, and then His peace,

    As mornings come round with it after evening.