1. أَرى أُمَّ حَسّانَ الغَداةَ تَلومُني

    تُخَوِّفُني الأَعداءَ وَالنَفسُ أَخوَفُ

    I see Umm Hassan reproaching me this morning;

    She warns me of enemies, though my own soul is more fearful.

  2. تَقولُ سُلَيمى لَو أَقَمتَ لِسِرِّنا

    وَلَم تَدرِ أَنّي لِلمُقامِ أُطَوِّفُ

    Sulayma says, “If you stayed, it would please us,”

    Not knowing that I roam so I may stay.

  3. لَعَلَّ الَّذي خَوَّفتِنا مِن أَمامِنا

    يُصادِفُهُ في أَهلِهِ المُتَخَلِّفُ

    Perhaps the danger you warned us of ahead

    Will find the man who stays behind among his kin.

  4. إِذا قُلتُ قَد جاءَ الغِنى حالَ دونَهُ

    أَبو صِبيَةٍ يَشكو المَفاقِرَ أَعجَفُ

    Whenever I say, “Wealth has come,” in its way stands

    A gaunt father of little children, lamenting poverty.

  5. لَهُ خَلَّةٌ لا يَدخُلُ الحَقُّ دونَها

    كَريمٌ أَصابَتهُ خُطوبٌ تُجَرِّفُ

    He has a need no rightful claim takes precedence over:

    A noble man struck by calamities that sweep all away.

  6. فَإِنّي لَمُستافُ البِلادِ بِسُربَةٍ

    فَمُبلِغُ نَفسي عُذرَها أَو مُطَوَّفُ

    For I shall surely scout the lands with a band of horsemen,

    And win my soul its justification—or be carried off by death.

  7. رَأَيتُ بَني لُبنى عَلَيهِم غَضاضَةٌ

    بُيوتُهُمُ وَسطَ الحُلولِ التَكَنُّفُ

    I saw the sons of Lubna bearing disgrace;

    Their homes lie amid the surrounding encampments.

  8. أَرى أُمَّ سِرياحٍ غَدَت في ظَعائِنٍ

    تَأَمَّلُ مِن شامِ العِراقِ تُطَوِّفُ

    I see Umm Siryah setting out at dawn among women in camel litters,

    Gazing out from northern Iraq as she roams.