1. كيف أنساه هل تناسيه يجدي؟

    وهو والذكريات والشوق عندي

    How can I forget him? Does pretending to forget him help?

    And he, the memories, and longing are with me.

  2. وهو أدنى من الأماني إلى القلب،

    وبيني وبينه… ألف بعد

    And he is closer to the heart than wishes,

    And between him and me lie a thousand distances.

  3. واشتهاء العناق يحلم في جيدي

    بانفاسه فيمرح عقدي

    And yearning for an embrace dreams at my neck

    Of his breath, so my necklace dances.

  4. عندما يهبط الظلام أراه

    ماثلاً في تصوراتي وسهدي

    When darkness descends, I see him

    Present in my imaginings and sleeplessness.

  5. آه إني أخال زنديه في قدي

    تشدَّانني فيختال.. قدي

    Ah, I imagine his forearms around my body,

    Clasping me tight, so my body sways proudly.

  6. فكأني أضمه في فراشي

    وهو يجني فمي ويقطف خدي

    So it is as though I embrace him in my bed,

    While he harvests my mouth and plucks my cheek.

  7. ثم أصغي إلى الفرش فلا أسمع

    إلا حديث نهدٍ لنهد

    Then I listen to the bedding and hear nothing

    But the talk of one breast to another.

  8. حلمٌ كاليقين يدنيه مني،

    وخيال يخفيه عني ويبدي

    A dream, like certainty, brings him close to me,

    And a vision hides him from me and reveals him.

  9. فأرى طيفه أواناً حنوناً

    وأواناً في مقلتيه تعدي

    So I see his phantom tender at times,

    And at others, aggression in his eyes.

  10. ليت أني أراه في صحوة الصبح

    فماً ضارعاً يغني بحمدي

    If only I could see him as morning wakes,

    A pleading mouth singing my praises.

  11. كلما ذاب في الخشوع تأبيت

    ورديت رغبتي شر رد

    Whenever he melted in submission, I would resist,

    And rebuff my desire with the harshest rejection,

  12. وتحديت ناظريه بإعراضي

    وأشعلت حبه بالتحدي

    And defy his eyes by turning away,

    And kindle his love through defiance,

  13. وتجاهلته وقلبي يناديه

    وجسمي يكاد يحرق بردي

    And ignore him while my heart called to him,

    And my body nearly burned my cloak.

  14. ثم يجترني ويجذب جسمي

    حضنه جذب قاهرٍ مستبد

    Then I am drawn in, my body pulled

    By his embrace, with a tyrannical conqueror's force.

  15. وهنا: أحتويه بين ذراعي،

    وأطويه بين لحمي وجلدي

    And here I enfold him between my arms,

    And fold him between my flesh and skin.

  16. ليت لي ما رجوت أو ليتني أم

    حوه: مني من ذكرياتي ووجدي

    If only I had what I hoped for—or could erase

    Him from myself, from my memories and my longing.

  17. ليتني يا جهنم الهجر أدري

    من هواه ومن تبدل بعدي؟!

    If only, O hell of separation, I knew

    Who his beloved is, and whom he chose after me!

  18. ليته في الشجون مثلي مهجور

    فيشتاقني ويذكر عهدي

    If only, amid sorrows, he were forsaken like me,

    So he would long for me and remember my pledge,

  19. ويعاني الجوى ويشقى كما أش

    قى، بأطيافه وذكراه وحدي

    And endure love's anguish and suffer as I

    Suffer alone from his phantoms and his memory.

  20. هكذا ترجمت مناها وللليـ

    ـل عبوسٌ، كأنه موج حقد

    Thus she voiced her wishes, while the night

    Wore a scowl, like a wave of malice.

  21. والظلام الظلام في كل مرأى

    قدرٌ جاثمٌ يخيف ويردي

    And darkness—darkness in every sight—

    Is a crouching fate that frightens and strikes down,

  22. صامتٌ والعتو في مقلتيه

    ظامىءٌ كالسلاح في كف وغد

    Silent, with insolence in its eyes,

    Thirsty as a weapon in a scoundrel's hand.

  23. والخيالات موكبٌ من حيارى

    تائهٌ يهتدي وحيران يهدي

    And the phantoms are a procession of the bewildered:

    A lost one finds his way, and a bewildered one guides.

  24. وحنين الصباح في خاطر الأنسام

    كالعطر في براعم ورد

    And morning's yearning in the breezes' mind

    Is like perfume in rosebuds.