وَحَقِّ مَن بَدَّلَ نَومِي بِالسَّهَرْ

وَحَقِّ مَن بَدَّلَ نَومِي بِالسَّهَرْ

وَعَذَّبَ القَلْبَ بِأَنْوَاعِ الفِكَرْ

وَعَذَّبَ القَلْبَ بِأَنْوَاعِ الفِكَرْ

And by the right of him who replaced my sleep with sleeplessness,

By the right of the one who changed my sleep into wakefulness

and tormented the heart with all kinds of thoughts,

And tortured my heart with all kinds of thoughts

وَأَسْقَمَ الجَفْنَ بِسُقْمِ جَفْنِهِ

وَأَسْقَمَ الجَفْنَ بِسُقْمِ جَفْنِهِ

وَأَسْهَرَ الطَّرْفَ وَلِلْقَلْبِ أَسَرْ

وَأَسْهَرَ الطَّرْفَ وَلِلْقَلْبِ أَسَرْ

and sickened my eyelid with his eyelid’s languor,

And wearied my eyelids with the ailment of his eyelids

and kept my eye awake and took my heart captive:

And kept my eyes awake though my heart was captured

ما خِلْتُ ذاكَ الوَجْهَ لمَّا أَنْ بَدا

ما خِلْتُ ذاكَ الوَجْهَ لمَّا أَنْ بَدا

فِي جُنْحِ لَيْلِ شَعْرِهِ إِلاَّ قَمَرْ

فِي جُنْحِ لَيْلِ شَعْرِهِ إِلاَّ قَمَرْ

I deemed that face, when it appeared,

I never saw that face when it appeared

in the darkness of his hair’s night, nothing but a moon.

In the wing of night except as the moon

وَهْوَ فَما ظَنَّ دُموعَ مُقْلَتِي

وَهْوَ فَما ظَنَّ دُموعَ مُقْلَتِي

بِما جَرَى مِن فَيْضِها إِلاَّ مَطَرْ

بِما جَرَى مِن فَيْضِها إِلاَّ مَطَرْ

And he deemed the tears of my eye,

Yet he thought not that the tears of my eyelids

with all that streamed from its overflow, nothing but rain.

Were by their outpouring anything but rain

أَحْوَرُ وَالفُتور حَشْوُ جَفْنِهِ

أَحْوَرُ وَالفُتور حَشْوُ جَفْنِهِ

يا حَبَّذا ذَاكَ الفُتورُ وَالحَوَرْ

يا حَبَّذا ذَاكَ الفُتورُ وَالحَوَرْ

His eyes are dark against white, and languor fills his eyelid;

Languid, while languor fills his eyelids

ah, how lovely that languor and that contrast in his eyes!

Oh, excellent that languor and coquetry

مَرَّ بِنا يَخْطُرُ فِي مَشْيَتِهِ

مَرَّ بِنا يَخْطُرُ فِي مَشْيَتِهِ

وَالقَلْبُ مِن خَطْرَتِهِ عَلى خَطَرْ

وَالقَلْبُ مِن خَطْرَتِهِ عَلى خَطَرْ

He passed by us, swaying in his walk,

He passed by us, strutting in his walk

and at his swaying step, my heart was in peril.

While my heart from his strutting was in danger

هَزَّ لَنا مِن قَدِّهِ رُمْحاً وَمِن

هَزَّ لَنا مِن قَدِّهِ رُمْحاً وَمِن

أَلْحاظِهِ يا عَاذِلي سَيْفاً شَهَرْ

أَلْحاظِهِ يا عَاذِلي سَيْفاً شَهَرْ

He brandished his stature as a spear before us, and from

He shook at us from his height a spear and from

his glances, O my reproacher, he drew a sword.

His glances, oh reproacher, a drawn sword

مُخالِفٌ إِنْ قُلْتُ دَعْ زيارَتِي

مُخالِفٌ إِنْ قُلْتُ دَعْ زيارَتِي

زارَ وَإِنْ قُلْتُ لَهُ صِلْني هَجَرْ

زارَ وَإِنْ قُلْتُ لَهُ صِلْني هَجَرْ

Contrary he is: if I say, “Stop visiting me,”

Contrary, if I say "Leave off visiting me" he visits

he visits; and if I tell him, “Keep close to me,” he forsakes me.

And if I say "Be loyal to me" he deserts

وَاللَّهِ ما عاتَبْتُهُ إِلاَّ وَفَى

وَاللَّهِ ما عاتَبْتُهُ إِلاَّ وَفَى

وَلا وَفَيْتُ عَهْدَهُ إِلا غَدَرْ

وَلا وَفَيْتُ عَهْدَهُ إِلا غَدَرْ

And by God, I never reproached him without his keeping faith,

By God, I have never reproached him except he fulfilled

nor kept faith with him without his betraying me.

Nor kept faith with him except he betrayed