أقُولُ وَقَدْ نَاحَتْ بِقُرْبي حمامَةٌ:

أيَا جَارَتَا، هَلْ تَشعُرِينَ بِحَالي؟

I said as a dove mournfully cooed near me:

O neighbor! Are you aware of my situation,

Is your cooing in sympathy for my condition

مَعاذَ الهَوَى! ما ذُقتِ طارِقةَ النّوَى

وَلا خَطَرَتْ مِنكِ الهُمُومُ ببالِ

I have tasted of sorrow and separation

More than you have ever experienced

And the worries I have known

Never occurred to you

أتَحْمِلُ مَحْزُونَ الفُؤادِ قَوَادِمٌ

عَلى غُصُنٍ نَائِي المَسَافَةِ عَالِ؟

Is it possible that you carry sorrow in your heart

While perching on a high branch,

With a respectable distance above the ground

أيَا جَارتَا، ما أنْصَفَ الدّهْرُ بَينَنا!

تَعَالَيْ أُقَاسِمْكِ الهُمُومَ، تَعَالِي!

O my neighbor, the dove!

Life has not dealt fairly with us.

Come hither, that I may share

My uneasy feelings with you

تَعَالَيْ تَرَيْ رُوحاً لَدَيّ ضَعِيفَةً،

تَرَدّدُ في جِسْمٍ يُعَذّبُ بَالي

Come nigh, and you shall find a soul: my soul

Frail and feeble, in a body that tortures my mind

أيَضْحَكُ مأسُورٌ، وَتَبكي طَلِيقَةٌ،

وَيَسْكُتُ مَحزُونٌ، وَيَندبُ سالِ؟

Must a prisoner laugh while a free bird weep?

Shall the sorrow-filled be quiet

While the indifferent wail

لَقد كنتُ أوْلى مِنكِ بالدّمعِ مُقلَةً،

وَلَكِنّ دَمْعي في الحَوَادِثِ غَالِ!

O dove, my eyes are more deserving

Of shedding tears than yours

My tears, however, are, in adversity, hard to flow