وَلَو أنّ ليلى العامريَّة سلَّمت

وَلَو أنّ ليلى العامريَّة سلَّمت

عَليَّ وَدوني تربَة وَصفَائح

عَليَّ وَدوني تربَة وَصفَائح

And even if Layla al-ʿAmiriyya were to greet

Even if Layla al-Amiriya had greeted me

Me, with earth and stone slabs between us,

While below me is dirt and planks

لَسلّمت تَسليمَ البشاشَة أَو زَقا

لَسلّمت تَسليمَ البشاشَة أَو زَقا

إِلَيها صَدى مِن جانِبِ القَبر صالح

إِلَيها صَدى مِن جانِبِ القَبر صالح

I would greet her cheerfully—or there would cry out

I would have greeted her with delight

To her a kindly owl from beside the grave.

Or echoed back to her from the grave, well-wisher