1. أَخي حالي لِفَقدك عَن جُفوني

    كَحالِ الشَّمسِ في فَقد الشعاعِ

    My brother, my state with you absent from my eyes

    is like the sun's when its radiance is lost.

  2. عداني عَنكَ تَعجيزٌ وَعُذرٌ

    طَريفٌ إِن أَصَختَ إِلى اِستِماعِ

    Incapacity and an excuse kept me from you—

    a curious one, if you will lend an ear.

  3. وَذَلِكَ أَن جَرى دَمعي نَجيعاً

    وفاضَ مِن الصُّدورِ بِلا اِنقِطاعِ

    And it is this: my tears flowed as fresh blood,

    and poured from breasts without ceasing.

  4. فَصرتُ إِلَيكَ مجتلباً بِفصدي

    دَمي من مُقلتيَّ إِلى ذِراعي

    So, to reach you, I began drawing through bloodletting

    my blood from my two eyes into my arm.

  5. فَسالَت كُلُّها تَجري اِشتياقاً

    وَسحاً كَالشآبيبِ السراعِ

    Then all of them flowed, streaming with longing,

    and gushing like swift showers of rain.

  6. وَلَم يمنَع مسيلٌ عَن مسيلٍ

    وَكادَ الجرح يُرغبُ في اِنتِجاعي

    And one stream did not hold back another,

    and the wound almost enticed one to seek me out.

  7. فَكُنتُ كَمَن يُداوى مِن صداعٍ

    فَخفَّ وَلم يزُل أَلمُ الصُّداعِ

    So I was like someone treated for a headache:

    it eased, but the headache's pain did not disappear.