أَرتْه غِرَّتُه في الهَجْر مَصْلَحتي

أَرتْه غِرَّتُه في الهَجْر مَصْلَحتي

جهلاً فأفسدَ منِّي كلَّ ما صَلَحا

جهلاً فأفسدَ منِّي كلَّ ما صَلَحا

His heedlessness made him think estrangement would benefit me,

His whim showed him separation was in my interest,

in ignorance; so he ruined all that was sound in me.

Ignorantly he ruined all that was sound between us.

وقَال لَيس له قلبٌ يُطيقُ بهِ

وقَال لَيس له قلبٌ يُطيقُ بهِ

صَبراً ولو همَّ بالسُّلوانِ لافْتُضِحَا

صَبراً ولو همَّ بالسُّلوانِ لافْتُضِحَا

And he said, “He has no heart with which to endure

And said he has no heart that can bear

patiently; were he even to think of forgetting, he would be exposed.”

Patience, though if he tried solace he'd thrive.

وصبوةُ الحبِّ كانت قبلَ بَذلَتِهِ

وصبوةُ الحبِّ كانت قبلَ بَذلَتِهِ

وبَعدها فسواءٌ صدّ أو نَزَحَا

وبَعدها فسواءٌ صدّ أو نَزَحَا

Love's ardor was there before it was cheapened;

The madness of love was there before he rejected me,

and afterward, it is all the same whether he turns away or goes afar.

Afterwards indifference or departure are the same.

كالشَّعر يُحفظُ ما لم يُبتذلْ فإذا

كالشَّعر يُحفظُ ما لم يُبتذلْ فإذا

حَلَقْته عَادَ بعد الصّون مُطَّرَحَا

حَلَقْته عَادَ بعد الصّون مُطَّرَحَا

Like hair, preserved so long as it is not debased; then, when

Like hair that's memorized before it's shaved off, once

you shave it off, it ends up discarded after being kept safe.

You've cut it, protection cannot bring it back again.