1. غزال حلالي فيه الغزل

    فحرّم قربي وفي القلب حل

    A gazelle—love verse about him was sweet to me;

    yet he forbade my nearness and dwelt in my heart.

  2. رنا وانثنى فرمى أسهماً

    من اللحظ تبطل عزم البطل

    He gazed and swayed, then shot arrows

    from his glance, undoing the hero's resolve.

  3. ورام يحاكيه ريم الفلا

    فقلت هل الكحل مثل الكحل

    And a desert gazelle sought to imitate him,

    so I said, ‘Is applied kohl like natural dark eye-rims?’

  4. ومال فكم لام في حبه

    عذول عن الحق ظلماً عدل

    And he swayed; how often, for loving him, was I reproached

    by a reproacher who unjustly turned from the truth.

  5. فلما تأمل في حسنه

    تلظى بنار الهوى واشتعل

    Then, when he contemplated his beauty,

    he blazed in passion's fire and flared up.

  6. فيا عجباً لجفون مراض

    وسيف لواحظها قد قتل

    And oh, what wonder at languid eyelids,

    and the sword of their glances that has slain!

  7. ذوابل بالسحر مكحولة

    ببابل هاروت عنها نقل

    Drooping, lined with the kohl of magic—

    in Babylon, Harut borrowed it from them.

  8. ويا طيب يوم به جادلي

    وداجي الهموم انمحي واضمحل

    And oh, the sweetness of a day when he favored me,

    and the gloom of cares was effaced and vanished.

  9. فقلت له يا بديع اللقا

    ومزرى غصن النقا والاسل

    So I said to him, ‘O you of wondrous countenance,

    and you who put the dune's branch and the rushes to shame,

  10. ويا فاتنا بالجمال العقول

    ويا سالب الظبي سحر المقل

    and O you who enchant minds with beauty,

    and O you who rob the gazelle of its eyes' enchantment,

  11. فضحت الغزال وفقت الهلال

    وأخجلت شمس الضحى في الحمل

    you shamed the gazelle and surpassed the crescent moon,

    and shamed the morning sun in Aries.

  12. وكم ذا تجور وجفني يجود

    بدمع يزيد الضنى والعلل

    And how long will you be cruel, while my eyelid pours forth

    tears that deepen wasting and ailments?

  13. وما بال غيري أدنيته

    وأعطيته في هواك الأمل

    And why have you drawn another close

    and given him hope in loving you?

  14. وسعد سواي بدا طالعا

    وطالع سعدي غدا في زحل

    And another's fortune appeared on the rise,

    while my fortune's ascendant came under Saturn.

  15. فهلا تميل لوصل العليل

    وتقطع هذا الجفا والملل

    Then will you not incline to union with the ailing one

    and end this estrangement and weariness?

  16. وقد كنت قبل الهوى آمنا

    فأوقعتني في العنا والوجل

    And I had been secure before love,

    then you cast me into hardship and fear.’

  17. وما زلت أنظم در الكلام

    وأنثر دمعاً همي وانهمل

    And I kept stringing the pearls of speech

    and scattering tears that flowed and streamed,

  18. إلى أن بلغت أعز المرام

    على رغم أنف العذول الأذل

    until I attained the dearest goal,

    to the chagrin of the most abject reproacher.

  19. ورق فقرّت به العين اذ

    تكرّم لي بلذيذ القبل

    And he softened, so my eye rejoiced in him when

    he graciously gave me delicious kisses.

  20. وقال اغتنم فرصة نلتها

    وربك ذو العفو عما حصل

    And he said, ‘Seize the chance you have gained,

    and your Lord forgives what has occurred.’

  21. فقابلت ذا النصح لي بالقبول

    وقبلت ثغرا لماه عسل

    So I accepted this counsel given to me,

    and kissed a mouth whose dusky lips were honey.

  22. وعانقت ذاك القوام الرشيق

    وجدت بنظم رقيق الغزل

    And I embraced that graceful figure

    and poured forth tender love verse.

  23. فأمطر جفني حتى روى

    بروضة خديه ورد الخجل

    Then my eyelid rained until it watered

    the roses of bashfulness in the garden of his cheeks.

  24. وفكري قد حار في حسنه

    ووجدي بإحسانه قد كمل

    And my mind was bewildered by his beauty,

    and my passion, through his kindness, became complete.