مَا حَلَّ قَلْبِي وَلَا سَكَنْ

مَا حَلَّ قَلْبِي وَلَا سَكَنْإِلَّا هَوَى ظَبْيَةِ النُّجُودْ

Mā ḥalla qalbī walā sakan, Illā hawā ẓabyati an-nujūd

Nothing has entered or settled in my heart but love for the gazelle of the uplands,

وَرْدِيَّةِ الخَدِّ وَالوَجَنْدُرِّيَّةِ الثَّغْرِ وَالعُقُودْ

Wardiyyati al-khaddi wa-al-wajan, Durriyyati ath-thaghri wa-al-ʿuqūd

Rosy of cheek and face, pearly of teeth and necklaces,

مَعْشُوقَةِ النَّفْسِ فِي الوَطَنْلَكِنَّهَا مَا لَهَا عُهُودْ

Maʿshūqati an-nafsi fī al-waṭan, Lakinnahā mā lahā ʿuhūd

The soul's beloved in the homeland, yet she keeps no pledges.

إِنْ أَقْبَلَتْ طَابَ لِي الزَّمَنْأَوْ أَدْبَرَتْ ضَاقَ بِي الوُجُودْ

In aqbalat ṭāba lī az-zaman, Aw adbarat ḍāqa bī al-wujūd

If she comes, my time is sweet; if she turns away, existence grows narrow for me.

فَمَنْ رَسُولِي إِلَى سُعَادْتُعْطِينِيَ الأَمْنَ وَالخَفَرْ

Faman rasūlī ilā suʿād, Tuʿṭīniya al-ʾamna wa-al-khafar

Who will be my messenger to Su'ad, to grant me safety and protection

مِنْ هَجْرِهَا اليَوْمَ وَالبِعَادْلَعَلَّ يَحْصُلْ لِيَ المَقَرْ

Min hajrihā al-yawma wa-al-biʿād, Laʿalla yaḥṣul liya al-maqar

From her desertion today and her distance, that perhaps I may find a place of rest?

فَالشَّوْقُ عِنْدِي طَمَا وَزَادْوَشَاعَ فِي البَدْوِ وَالحَضَرْ

Fa-ash-shawqu ʿindī ṭamā wazād, Washāʿa fī al-badwi wa-al-ḥaḍar

Longing has overflowed in me and grown, and spread among nomads and townsfolk,

وَشَوَّشَ العَيْشَ وَالوَسَنْوَكَدَّرَ الشُّرْبَ وَالوُرُودْ

Washawwasha al-ʿaysha wa-al-wasan, Wakaddara ash-shurba wa-al-wurūd

And troubled my life and my sleep, and muddied my drink and my watering place.

ظَلَمْتِنِي أَيُّهَا الغَزَالْوَلَسْتُ بِالجَائِرِ الظَّلُومْ

Ẓalamtinī ayyuhā al-ghazāl, Walastu bi-al-jāʾiri aẓ-ẓalūm

You wronged me, O gazelle, though I am no unjust oppressor

عَلَيْكَ فِي حَالَةِ الوِصَالْوَلَا الجَفَا أَيُّهَا الغَشُومْ

ʿalayka fī ḥālati al-wiṣāl, Walā al-jafā ayyuhā al-ghashūm

Toward you, in times of union or of estrangement, O tyrant.

أَشْكُو إِلَى اللهِ ذِي الجَلَالْوَعِنْدَهُ تُجْمَعُ الخُصُومْ

Ashkū ilā Allāhi dhī al-jalāl, Waʿindahu tujmaʿu al-khuṣūm

I complain to Allah, the Majestic, before whom all adversaries are gathered.

نَرْجُوهُ فِي السِّرِّ وَالعَلَنْسُبْحَانَهُ عَزَّ مِنْ وَدُودْ

Narjūhu fī as-sirri wa-al-ʿalan, Subḥānahu ʿazza min wadūd

We hope in Him in secret and in public; glory be to Him, how mighty a Loving One!

وَالآنَ مَا عَادْ شِي كَلَامْقَدْ كَانَ مَا كَانَ يَا لَئِيمْ

Wa-al-ʾāna mā ʿād shī kalām, Qad kāna mā kāna yā laʾīm

Now there is nothing more to say; what happened has happened, O ignoble one.

عَلَى الرُّبَا وَأَهْلِهَا السَّلَامْنَمْضِي إِلَى السَّيِّدِ الكَرِيمْ

ʿalā ar-rubā waʾahlihā as-salām, Namḍī ilā as-sayyidi al-karīm

Peace upon the hills and their people! We go on to the generous master

بِتُرْبَةِ السَّادَةِ الكِرَامْبِوَادِ عَيْدِيدْ مِنْ تَرِيمْ

Biturbati as-sādati al-kirām, Biwādi ʿaydīd min tarīm

In the burial ground of the noble masters, in the valley of 'Idid in Tarim.

لَمْ نَلْقَ فِي هَذِهِ الدِّمَنْإِلَّا التَّبَارِيحَ وَالصُّدُودْ

Lam nalqa fī hadhihi ad-diman, Illā at-tabārīḥa wa-aṣ-ṣudūd

We found nothing in these ruins but torments and rejection.

وَلَّى الصِّبَا وَانْقَضَى الشَّبَابْوَخَيَّمَ الشَّيْبُ فِي الرُّؤُوسْ

Wallā aṣ-ṣibā wanqaḍā ash-shabāb, Wakhayyama ash-shaybu fī ar-ruʾūs

Childhood has gone, youth has passed, and grey hair has encamped upon our heads.

وَآذَنَ العُمْرُ بِالذَّهَابْوَبِالمَسِيرِ إِلَى الرُّمُوسْ

Waʾādhana al-ʿumru bi-adh-dhahāb, Wabi-al-masīri ilā ar-rumūs

Life has announced its departure and the journey to the graves.

عَسَى عَسَى يَحْصُلُ المَتَابْوَالعَفْوُ مِنْ بَارِئِ النُّفُوسْ

ʿasā ʿasā yaḥṣulu al-matāb, Wa-al-ʿafwu min bāriʾi an-nufūs

Perhaps, perhaps repentance will come, and pardon from the Creator of souls,

وَنَحْظَ بِالأَمْنِ وَالمِنَنْوَالفَوْزِ فِي جَنَّةِ الخُلُودْ

Wanaḥẓa bi-al-ʾamni wa-al-minan, Wa-al-fawzi fī jannati al-khulūd

And we will be granted safety and favours, and triumph in the Garden of Eternity.