1. لَقَدْ كَذَبَتْ وَحُقَّ لَهَا حَذَامِ

    وَأَلْقَتْ بِالمُنَى بَعْدَ الوِئَامِ

    Hadhām has indeed lied, as befitted her,

    And cast hopes aside after harmony.

  2. وَكَانَ الصِّدْقُ قَبْلُ لَهَا رَفِيقاً

    فَصَارَتْ وَالقَطَا وَقْرَ النِّيَامِ

    And truth had once been her companion,

    Then she and the sandgrouse became the sleepers’ deafness.

  3. وَلَوْ أَنَّ السُّيُوفَ مَلَكْتُ يَوْماً

    لَجِئْتُ مُقَاتِلاً بَدَلَ السَّلاَمِ

    And if I had ever possessed swords,

    I would have come fighting, rather than in peace.

  4. وَلَكِنْ وَيْحَهُ الإِفْلاَسُ قَاسٍ

    وَمَنْ يُفْلِسْ يَعِشْ دُونَ احْتِرَامِ

    But pennilessness—alas for it—is harsh,

    And whoever becomes penniless lives without respect.

  5. تَمَنَّى القَلْبُ أَنَّا مَا التَقَيْنَا

    وَلَمْ يَسْقَمْ بِهَا يَوْماً حُطَامِي

    The heart wished that we had never met,

    And that my shattered self had never sickened because of her.

  6. تَبَدَّتْ مِثْلَ غُصْنِ البَانِ زَيْفاً

    وَسَاقَتْنِي إِلَى جُبِّ الغَرَامِ

    She appeared, deceptively, like a bān-tree bough,

    And drove me into the pit of passion.

  7. أَرَادَتْ هَاتِفاً لِيَكُونَ وَصْلاً

    فَقَدْ أَزْرَى بِهَا هَوْلُ الهُيَامِ

    She wanted a phone to serve as a link,

    For the terror of infatuation had brought her low.

  8. وَكَانَتْ كُلَّمَا اسْتَمَعَتْ لِصَوْتِي

    تَكُرُّ جُيُوشُهَا تَرْجُو اغْتِنَامِي

    And whenever she listened to my voice,

    Her armies would charge, hoping to take me as spoils.

  9. تَخَافُ اللَيْلَ لَكِنْ حِينَ أَبْدُو

    تَهُبُّ بِشَوْقِهَا رَغْمَ الظَّلاَمِ

    She fears the night, but when I appear,

    She springs up with longing despite the darkness.

  10. تَقُولُ بِأَنَّهَا شُغِفَتْ بِحُبِّي

    وَأَنِّي عِنْدَهَا خَيْرُ الأَنَامِ

    She says she is smitten with love for me,

    And that, in her eyes, I am the best of humankind.

  11. أَرَادَتْ أَنْ يَكُونَ لَهَا جَوَازٌ

    فَشَهْرُ الشَّهْدِ يُرْجَى لِلْكِرَامِ

    She wanted to have a passport,

    For the noble, a honeymoon is to be hoped for.

  12. وَقَالَتْ أَنْتَ مَنْ تَرْجُوهُ رُوحِي

    فَجُدْ بِالبَذْلِ وَلْتَحْذَرْ خِصَامِي

    And she said, “You are the one my soul longs for,

    So give generously, and beware my hostility.

  13. فَكَمْ مِنْ غَايَةٍ لِي لَمْ تُنَفَّذْ

    وَلَمْ تَحْظَ المَطَالِبُ بِاهْتِمَامِ

    For so many wishes of mine have gone unfulfilled,

    And the demands have received no attention.”

  14. فَحَارَ البَذْلُ إِذْ قَدْ ضَاقَ ذَرْعاً

    فَلَمْ يَجْسُرْ فَجَاسَتْ لاِتِّهَامِي

    So giving was bewildered, its patience spent;

    It dared not; so she prowled about to accuse me

  15. بِأَنِّي لَسْتُ أَهْوَاهَا وَأَنِّي

    عَدِيمُ الحِسِّ ذُو عَقْلٍ هُلاَمِي

    Of not loving her, and of being

    Devoid of feeling, with a jellylike mind.

  16. وَأَلْقَتْ بِالعُهُودِ لأَجْلِ وَغْدٍ

    وَحَتَّى الوَغْدَ خَانَتْ فِي الخِتَامِ

    And she cast aside her pledges for a scoundrel,

    And betrayed even the scoundrel in the end.