1. أَلا أَيُّها الرَبعُ الَّذي غَيَّرَ البَلى

    عَفا وَخَلا مِن بَعدِ ما كانَ لا يَخلو

    Ah, O dwelling that decay has altered!

    It has faded and lies deserted, after a time when it was never empty.

  2. تَذأَبُ ريحُ المِسكِ فيهِ وَإِنَّما

    بِهِ المِسكُ إِن مَرَّت بِهِ ذَيلَها جُملُ

    The scent of musk wafts about it, yet only

    if Juml trails her hem through it is there musk.

  3. وَما ماءُ مُزنٍ مِن جِبالٍ مَنيعَةٍ

    وَلا ما أَكَنَّت في مَعادِنِها النَحلُ

    And neither rain-cloud water from inaccessible mountains,

    nor what the bees have hidden in their hives,

  4. بِأَشهى مِنَ القَولِ الَّذي قُلتِ بَعدَما

    تَمَكَّنَ مِن حَيزومِ ناقَتِيَ الرَحلُ

    is sweeter than the words you spoke after

    the saddle had settled firmly on my she-camel's chest.

  5. فَما رَوضَةٌ بِالحَزنِ صادٍ قَرارُها

    نَحاهُ مِنَ الوَسمِيِّ أَو دِيَمٌ هُطلُ

    And no meadow in rugged uplands, its bed parched,

    reached by early autumn rain or steady downpours,

  6. بِأَطيَبَ مِن أَردانِ بَثنَةَ مَوهِناً

    أَلا بَل لِرَيّاها عَلى الرَوضَةِ الفَضلُ

    is more fragrant than Bathna's sleeves late at night.

    Ah, no—her fragrance surpasses the meadow's.