1. خلقَت هَياكِلُها بِجَرعاءِ الحِمى

    وَصَبت لِمَغناها القَديم تَشَوّقا

    Her temples grew worn on the sanctuary’s sandy ground.

    And, full of longing, she yearned for her ancient abode.

  2. مَحجوبَة سَفرت وَأَسفَر صُبحها

    وَتَجَرَّدت عَمّا أَجدّ وَأَخلقا

    Once veiled, she unveiled herself, and her dawn shone forth.

    And she stripped herself of all that had been renewed and worn out.

  3. وَتَلَفّتت نَحوَ الدِّيارِ فَشاقَها

    رَبع عَفَت أَطلالُهُ فتَمَزَّقا

    And she turned toward the dwellings, stirred to longing by

    A homestead whose ruins had vanished and which had fallen apart.

  4. وَغَدَت تردّدُ في الفَضاءِ حَبيبها

    فَيَروم مُرتَبِعاً يَروق المُرتقى

    And she began repeating her beloved’s name through the open air.

    So he seeks, sojourning in spring, an ascent that enchants.

  5. وَقَفَت تُسائِلُه فَرَدَّ جَوابَها

    رَجعَ الصَّدى أن لا سَبيلَ إِلى اللّقا

    She stood questioning him, and in answer came

    The echo’s reverberation: “There is no path to reunion.”

  6. فَشَكَت بِعَينِ الحالِ مَعهَد عَهدِها

    أَسَفاً عَلى شَملٍ مَضى وَتَفَرَّقا

    So, with the eye of her plight, she mourned the haunt of her former days,

    In sorrow for a union that had passed away and scattered.

  7. فَكَأَنَّما بَرقٌ تَأَلّق بِالحِمى

    ثُمَّ اِنطَوى فَكَأَنَّهُ ما أَبرَقا

    So it was as though lightning had gleamed in the sanctuary,

    Then folded away—as though it had never flashed.