عَلى الوَردِ منِّي أَن تَوَلَّى تَحِيَّةٌ

عَلى الوَردِ منِّي أَن تَوَلَّى تَحِيَّةٌ

وَإِن ما مَضى إِقبالُهُ وَرحيلُهُ

وَإِن ما مَضى إِقبالُهُ وَرحيلُهُ

A greeting from me to the rose, now that it has departed,

Farewell greetings to the rose as it turns away

even though its coming and going have passed.

Though the days of its arrival and departure have passed

لَقَد كُنتُ أُسقَى فَوقَهُ الراحَ فَوقنا

لَقَد كُنتُ أُسقَى فَوقَهُ الراحَ فَوقنا

مِن اللَّهو ظلٌّ لا يَزولُ ظَليلُهُ

مِن اللَّهو ظلٌّ لا يَزولُ ظَليلُهُ

Indeed, I used to be served wine above it, while above us

I would water it over us, the gentle breeze over us both

lay a shade of revelry whose deep shade never faded.

A shade that does not fade, its coolness eternal

وَأَوتارُ مَخضُوبِ البَنانِ كَأَنَّها

وَأَوتارُ مَخضُوبِ البَنانِ كَأَنَّها

حَمامٌ وَصَبري حينَ طَلَّ هَديلُهُ

حَمامٌ وَصَبري حينَ طَلَّ هَديلُهُ

And the strings of one with dyed fingertips were like

And the strings of the lute stained deep red as though

doves—and my patience, slain unavenged, was their Hadīl.

A dove whose cooing grows distant once called