لَمّا أَتاني ودُرٌّ في مقلَّدِهِ

لَمّا أَتاني ودُرٌّ في مقلَّدِهِ

وَاِفتَرَّ يَبسم عَن مثلِ الّذي لَبِسا

وَاِفتَرَّ يَبسم عَن مثلِ الّذي لَبِسا

When he came to me with pearls about his neck,

When he came to me with pearls in his necklace,

And parted his lips in a smile, revealing the like of what he wore,

And his smile revealed teeth like the pearls he wore,

عَطفتُ منهُ عَلى ضَعْفِي فظاظَتَهُ

عَطفتُ منهُ عَلى ضَعْفِي فظاظَتَهُ

فَلم يَلِنْ لِي على رِفْقِي به وقسا

فَلم يَلِنْ لِي على رِفْقِي به وقسا

I tried to bend his harshness to pity my frailty,

I met his arrogance with my weakness,

Yet he did not soften toward me, despite my gentleness with him, and grew hard.

But he did not soften with my gentleness towards him.

فَظلّ يهتك منّي كلّ مُكتتَمٍ

فَظلّ يهتك منّي كلّ مُكتتَمٍ

جوىً ويسفح دمعاً كان مُحْتَبَسا

جوىً ويسفح دمعاً كان مُحْتَبَسا

So he kept laying bare all that I concealed—

So he kept violating my every secret,

Heartache—and spilling tears that had been held back.

Shedding tears that had been held back,

وَقال لي أنتَ مسلولٌ فقلت له

وَقال لي أنتَ مسلولٌ فقلت له

ما كان ذاك ولكنْ ربّما وعسى

ما كان ذاك ولكنْ ربّما وعسى

And he said to me, "You are consumptive," so I said to him,

And he said to me “You are worn out,” and I said,

"That was not so—but perhaps, and it may be."

“That wasn’t so, but maybe, just maybe.”