1. أبت نفسي سُلوّاً في بعادي

    وقد قصرت يداها عن سدادِ

    My soul has refused solace in my separation,

    And its hands have proved too short to set things right.

  2. وهل يلقى الفتى بالدهر رشداً

    وقلب الدهر مجموع الفسادِ

    And can a young man find right guidance in Time,

    When Time's heart is the sum of all corruption?

  3. فلا وصلٌ يدوم ولا سرورٌ

    ولا فرحٌ يمرّ بمستعادِ

    So no union lasts, nor any joy,

    Nor is a delight that passes ever regained.

  4. كانَّا قد خُلقنا لافتراق

    تراقبنا النوائب كالاعادي

    As though we had been created for separation,

    Calamities watch us like enemies.

  5. وما عهد الفتى بالقرب عهدٌ

    وما بالوصل تجربة الودادِ

    And a young man's bond in closeness is no true bond,

    Nor is union a test of affection.

  6. ولكنَّ الفتى مَن جرَّبتهُ

    صروفُ الدهر بالمحن الشدادِ

    But the true young man is one who has been tested

    By Time's vicissitudes with severe trials.

  7. وفخر النفس مجد واصطبار

    تدوس بهِ لظى شوك القتادِ

    And the soul's pride is glory and endurance,

    With which it treads the burning thorns of qatad.

  8. بعيشك يا رياحُ الصبح قصّي

    سلامي وانشدي شوق الفؤادِ

    By your life, O morning winds, convey

    My greeting, and sing the longing of the heart.

  9. فيا دار الأحبة كم يُداني

    خيالك مقلتي وقت الرقادِ

    So, O dwelling of my loved ones, how often draws near

    Your image to my eye at the hour of sleep!

  10. وكم أذرفت من وجدي دموعاً

    وسارت مهجتي مع كل حادِ

    And how many tears I have shed from my yearning,

    And my soul has journeyed with every camel-driver!

  11. سأصبر يا فؤادُ على بعادي

    وارضى نارَ وجدك خير زادِ

    I shall be patient, O heart, in my separation,

    And accept the fire of your yearning as the best provision,

  12. واسقي من جفوني ارض شوقي

    ليروى من دموعي كل صادِ

    And water the land of my longing from my eyelids,

    So every thirsty one may be quenched by my tears.

  13. سئمت الدهر والايام حتى

    كرهت بقاء عيشي والتمادي

    I have wearied of Time and the days, until

    I came to hate my life's continuance and its prolongation.

  14. وصنتُ بقيَّة بالروح عفوا

    عسى ألقى بها كرم البلادِ

    And I freely preserved a remnant within my soul,

    Perhaps with it I may find the land's generosity.

  15. عسى القى الفتى مَن ساد مجدا

    وقام بهِ طريفاً عن تلادِ

    Perhaps I may meet the young man who became preeminent in glory,

    And upheld it, newly won from ancestral honor.

  16. إذا ناديتُ بطرس في بعادي

    سمعتُ الدهر جدواه ينادي

    When I call upon Butrus in my separation,

    I hear Time proclaiming his bounty.

  17. فدتك الروح من خلٍّ وفيٍّ

    وكم فدَّتك مثلي روحُ فادِ

    May my soul be your ransom, faithful friend,

    And how many a ransomer's soul, like mine, has ransomed you!

  18. أخاف عليك من حسد الاعادي

    لوجه منهُ ضوء الصبح بادِ

    I fear for you the envy of enemies,

    For a face from which the light of morning shines forth.

  19. واخشى أن تخاصمني عليكم

    بدور الأفق أو أُسد البوادي

    And I fear that, over you, I may be challenged

    By the horizon's full moons or the lions of the wilds.

  20. فيا شمس الضحى لي فيكِ مثلٌ

    لميعُ حسامهِ للعين هادِ

    So, O midmorning sun, in you I find a likeness:

    The gleam of his sword is a guide to the eye.

  21. تسابق خيلهُ خيل المنايا

    اذا ما أُسرجت يوم الطرادِ

    His horses race the horses of death

    Whenever they are saddled on the day of mounted combat.

  22. ويعلوها فتًى لمَّا نراه نرى

    جبلاً علا متن الجوادِ

    And a young man mounts them; when we see him, we see

    A mountain risen upon the steed's back.

  23. إذا جادت يداهُ بالعطايا

    حسبت البحر بحراً من جوادِ

    When his hands lavish gifts,

    You would think the sea a sea sprung from a generous giver.

  24. تبارك من برا باللطف شخصاً

    تقاد لهُ العلى ايَّ انقيادِ

    Blessed is the One who graciously fashioned a man

    To whom the heights of honor are led in utter submission.

  25. أناشدهُ سطوراً قد حوتها

    طروس القلب لا طرسُ المدادِ

    I entreat him with lines already contained

    In the heart's pages, not on a page of ink.

  26. يذكرني اواقيت التهاني

    ويوعدني صباحاً بالمعادِ

    He remembers me at times of congratulation,

    And promises me a return one morning.

  27. وما احظى من الدنيا بحظٍّ

    سوى وعد بوصل واتعادِ

    And I gain no share from this world

    Save a promise of union and a pledged meeting.

  28. وفخر النفس اقناع وصبر

    وما فخر يقوم بلا جهادِ

    And the soul's pride is contentment and patience,

    And no pride stands without struggle.