أعيدوا وصالي فهو بعض عوائدي

ولا تنكروا عهدي بتلك المعاهدِ

Restore my union, for it is part of my accustomed ways.

And do not deny my bond with those familiar haunts.

معاهد لم يبرح من القلب وَجدُها

وما برحت تعلو وتغلو لقاصدِ

Haunts for which longing has never left the heart,

and which ever rise in esteem and grow dearer to whoever seeks them.

سقاها الحيا صبحاً وتُسقى ربوعُها

مليًّا وما العشَّاق طيبُ المواردِ

May rain water them in the morning, and may their dwellings be watered

for a long while; the lovers' water has sweet sources [uncertain reading].

نظرتُ على بعدٍ اليها فقانَني

على القرب ظبيٌ فاتني بالمحامدِ

I looked toward them from afar, and was captivated

near at hand by a gazelle who surpassed me in virtues.

وعزّ عليَّ الوصل فيمن اعزهُ

فكيف اصطباري والزمان معاندي

And union with the one I cherish proved hard to attain;

so how can I endure, when Time opposes me?

على ذا قضى الدهرُ بالخؤون بأهلهِ

فما شرعهُ غير الجِفا والتباعدِ

Thus has Time decreed treachery against its people;

for its law is nothing but coldness and estrangement.

تسير بنا الدنيا الى حيث لا نشا

وتصمي لياليها سهامَ المكايد

The world carries us where we do not wish to go,

and its nights make the arrows of intrigue strike fatally.

وليس الفتى من يلتقي الدهرَ عابساً

فذو الحزم يَلقى دهرهُ غير حاقدِ

The true man is not one who meets Time scowling,

for a man of resolve faces his time without resentment.

كتمتُ الهوى صبرٌ فباحت مدامعي

بسرّي وسالت من جفونٍ سواهدِ

I hid my love in patience, but my tears disclosed

my secret and streamed from sleepless eyelids.

وان انكرت دار الاحبَّة لوعتي

فآياتُ شوقي والغرام شواهدي

And if the abode of loved ones denies my anguish,

the signs of my longing and passion are my witnesses.

أَهيم اذا ناح الحمام لوجدها

ويطربني وجدي بعصر الاماجدِ

I wander distraught with yearning for it whenever the doves lament,

and my longing for the age of noble men fills me with rapture.

واذكر ما هبّ النسيم صبابةً

تعلَلني بالصبرِ والصبرُ جاحدي

And whenever the breeze stirs, I recall a yearning

that soothes me with patience, though patience disowns me.

وأَصبر فالصبر الجميل وديعة

لأهل الهوى والحلم خير معاضدِ

And I am patient, for gracious patience is a trust

for the people of love, and forbearance is the best ally.

واسأَل ريح الصبح حمل صبابتي

الى بطرس المقدام عين القراقدِ

And I ask the morning wind to carry my longing

to intrepid Butrus, the foremost of al-qarāqid [unclear term].

تظلُّ مطايا الحمد قاصدة لهُ

ويحلو بهِ للناس نظم النشائدِ

The mounts of praise keep heading toward him,

and through him people find the composing of songs sweet.

خليلي اذا ما فرّق الهجرُ بيننا

فعن عهدنا بالحبّ لست بحائدِ

My friend, if estrangement separates us,

I shall not turn aside from our covenant of love.

وحقك لا اسلو على البعد موعداً

سعدتُّ بهِ والحظ كان مساعدي

By your honor, I shall not forget, despite distance, a meeting

in which I found joy, and fortune stood by me.

ولا نظرت عيني لغيرك منةً

ولا في سوى جدواك رنَّت قصائدي

Nor has my eye sought a favor from anyone but you,

nor have my poems rung out for any bounty but yours.