نَسيتَ عُهودي وَاِطَّرَحتَ رَسائِلي

نَسيتَ عُهودي وَاِطَّرَحتَ رَسائِلي

كَأَن لَم يَدُر يَوماً بِفِكرِكَ لي ذِكرُ

كَأَن لَم يَدُر يَوماً بِفِكرِكَ لي ذِكرُ

You forgot my pledges and cast aside my letters,

You forgot my covenants and cast off my letters

As though no remembrance of me had ever crossed your mind.

As if you never once thought of even mentioning me

وَقَد كُنتُ أَخشى بَعضَ ذاكَ فَعِندَما

وَقَد كُنتُ أَخشى بَعضَ ذاكَ فَعِندَما

قَطَعتَ جَوابي قُلتُ قَد قُضِيَ الأَمرُ

قَطَعتَ جَوابي قُلتُ قَد قُضِيَ الأَمرُ

And I had feared something of that; so when

And I had feared some of that, so when

You stopped replying to me, I said, 'It is over.'

You cut off my response, I said the matter was settled

وَقَد كانَ ظَنّي فيكَ أَنَّكَ ذاكِري

وَقَد كانَ ظَنّي فيكَ أَنَّكَ ذاكِري

وَلو جُرِّدَت ما بَينَنا الأَنصُلُ البُترُ

وَلو جُرِّدَت ما بَينَنا الأَنصُلُ البُترُ

And I had believed that you would remember me,

And my assumption about you was that you remembered me

Even if keen blades were unsheathed between us.

Even if we were stripped bare, leaving no connection between us

فَكَيفَ وَلا الخَطِّيُّ يَخطِرُ بَينَنا

فَكَيفَ وَلا الخَطِّيُّ يَخطِرُ بَينَنا

وَلا نَهِلَت مِنّا المُثَقَّفَةُ السُمرُ

وَلا نَهِلَت مِنّا المُثَقَّفَةُ السُمرُ

How, then, could you forget, when no Khattī spear sways between us,

So how could it be when there is not even

And the straightened brown spears have not drunk from us?

A literate one to cross between us, nor a sleepless dark-eyed beauty to water our relationship