بعد أحبابي كساني الأرقا

بعد أحبابي كساني الأرقا

يا ترى هل بعده من ملتقى

يا ترى هل بعده من ملتقى

Separation from my loved ones has clothed me in sleeplessness.

After my loved ones left me sleepless

I wonder, will there be any reunion after it?

I wonder, will there ever be another meeting?

من لصب بات يبكي قاشلا

من لصب بات يبكي قاشلا

عز صبري ولهم طول البقا

عز صبري ولهم طول البقا

Who will aid a lovesick man who spent the night weeping [final word unclear]?

To a lover who spends the night crying bitterly

Patience fails me; may they live long.

My patience is mighty, and their absence prolonged

كنت في الحي وكانوا جيرتي

كنت في الحي وكانوا جيرتي

يوم كان الحظ بدرا مشرقا

يوم كان الحظ بدرا مشرقا

I lived in the quarter, and they were my neighbors,

We were neighbors in the neighborhood

when fortune was a radiant full moon.

When luck shone bright as the full moon

اجتمعنا فارتبطنا بالهوى

اجتمعنا فارتبطنا بالهوى

وافترقنا والهوى ما افترقا

وافترقنا والهوى ما افترقا

We came together and so were bound by love.

We came together and fell in love

And we parted, but love did not part.

We parted though love did not part

لي حبيب كلما عانقته

لي حبيب كلما عانقته

خفق القلب ابتهاجا خفقا

خفق القلب ابتهاجا خفقا

I have a beloved; whenever I embrace him,

I have a lover, whenever I embrace him

my heart throbs and throbs with joy.

My heart flutters with joyful throbs

وإذا جاذبت منه غصنا

وإذا جاذبت منه غصنا

نثر الورد علينا ورقا

نثر الورد علينا ورقا

And when I tug at a branch of his,

And when I pull a branch toward me

the roses scatter petals over us.

He showers us with rose petals

أتمنى قربه يبعدني

أتمنى قربه يبعدني

شد ما عذبني ظبي النقى

شد ما عذبني ظبي النقى

I long for his nearness; he keeps me away.

I wish his nearness would distance me

How sorely the gazelle of the dunes has tormented me!

So intensely has the graceful gazelle tormented me

تارة يدنو وطورا ينثني

تارة يدنو وطورا ينثني

هكذا الدنيا نعيم وشقا

هكذا الدنيا نعيم وشقا

At times he draws near, and at others he turns away.

At times he comes near, at times he turns away

Such is life: bliss and misery.

Such is this world, bliss and agony