يا سائِلَتي فيمَ تُعاني القَلَقا

يا سائِلَتي فيمَ تُعاني القَلَقا

ما سامك ذا القَلبُ وَمَن ذا عَشِقا

ما سامك ذا القَلبُ وَمَن ذا عَشِقا

O woman who asks me, “Why do you suffer unrest?

O my questioner, why do you suffer disquiet

What has this heart made you endure, and whom has it loved?”

Whose heart is it that loves, and who is it that loves?

كالعودِ تَحَنَّنتُ إِلى حُجر هَوى

كالعودِ تَحَنَّنتُ إِلى حُجر هَوى

لَو ضَمَّ كَعوده جَماداً نَطَقا

لَو ضَمَّ كَعوده جَماداً نَطَقا

Like a lute, I yearned for a beloved’s lap;

Like a lute I yearned for the bosom of passion -

Were he to embrace a lifeless thing as he does his lute, it would speak.

If it clasped me close, though I'm wood, I would speak