أيا حسنا قد حاز كل فضيلة

ورتبته تعلو على كل رتبة

O fair one who has attained every virtue,

And whose rank rises above every rank.

بعثت لنا تمرا وبالهجر شبته

فكدرت منه بالنوى صفو عيشتي

You sent us dates and blended them with estrangement,

So through separation you thereby clouded my life's serenity.

فان كان قول الزور عني ساءكم

حياتكم أحيت وجودي وصحتي

If false words about me have distressed you,

Your life has revived my being and my health.

وعيشكم لو عشت الفا ومثلها

فلا بد ان اسقى كؤوس المنية

And by your life, were I to live a thousand years and as many again,

I must still be made to drink the cups of death.

فما هذه الدنيا بدر اقامة

فما هي الا دار هم ومحنة

For this world is no lasting abode;

It is nothing but an abode of sorrow and affliction.

أأحبابنا يكفي من الدمع ما جرى

وفي عبرتي للصب عظم عبرة

O our loved ones, will the tears that have flowed suffice?

And in my tears lies a mighty lesson for the lovesick lover.

بحقكم لا تقطعوا الرسل بيننا

ولا تصرموا حبل الوفا بالقطيعة

By your worth, do not cut off the messengers between us,

Nor sever the cord of fidelity through estrangement.

نسيم الصبا بالله ان جزت بالحمى

فحيّ اهيل الحي من اهل جيرتي

Breeze of the east, by God, if you pass through the protected grounds,

Then greet the dear folk of the quarter, my own neighbors.

وعرّج على وادي رجاء بسحرة

وبلغ حديث الشوق عني احبتي

And turn aside to Wadi Raja before dawn,

And carry the tale of my longing to my loved ones.

فمن خاطري لم بطو نشر حديهم

وذلك اني لم احل عن طويتي

For their tale remains unfolded in my mind,

And that is because I have not turned from my inward resolve.

فيا جيرة العاصي شريعة حبكم

وحقكم ديني وخير شريعتي

So, O neighbors of the Orontes, the law of loving you

Is, by your worth, my faith and my finest sacred law.

فتلك مني قلبي واقصى مآربي

ومنية افراحي وموطن نشأتي

For that is my heart's wish and my utmost desire,

And my joys' cherished wish, and the home where I grew up.

فخمر وان ما ذقت كوثر مائها

اميل كأني منه نشوان خمرة

For it is wine, though what I tasted was the Kawthar of its waters;

I sway as though it had made me drunk on wine.

عليكم سلام الله والبعد بيننا

وذلك ازكى شاهد بالمحبة

God's peace be upon you, though distance lies between us.

And that is the purest witness to love.

فلا زال في افق المعالي شهابكم

رجوما به عمد الشياطين سلوتي

May your meteor ever remain on the horizon of glory,

A missile with which to strike the devils bent on making me forget.

فدام ربيع الجود بالفضل كاملا

مديداً طويل العمر وافر نعمة

May the spring of generosity endure, perfect in bounty,

Enduring, long-lived, and rich in blessings.