1. سل حاجراً ان جئت أرض حاجر

    عن الظباء الغيد والجآذر

    Ask Hajir, if you reach the land of Hajir,

    about the graceful gazelles and young deer.

  2. عهدي به وهو كناس شادن

    اغن أو عرين ليث خادر

    I remember it as a shelter for a young gazelle,

    or the den of a lion lying in wait.

  3. خدوره تحمي باجفان الظبا

    أو بضبا حماتها القسأور

    Its secluded chambers are guarded by gazelles’ eyelids,

    or by the blades of its lionlike guardians.

  4. ربع حمدت العيش في ظلاله

    مبتهج القلب قرير الناظر

    A dwelling beneath whose shade I praised life,

    my heart delighted and my eyes content.

  5. اخطر في روض النعيم رافلا

    في برد ريعان الشباب الناضر

    I strolled through the garden of bliss, splendidly dressed

    in the cloak of youth’s fresh prime.

  6. والراح يجلو شمسها بدربه

    تنجاب عنا ظلمة الدياجر

    And the wine, whose sun a full moon brought to light,

    drove the darkness of deep night from us.

  7. واغيد يرنو بجفن فاتر

    منكس بالعاشقين ظافر

    A graceful one gazed with a languid eyelid,

    downcast, yet victorious over lovers.

  8. يصد عني كالغزال نافراً

    نفسي فدا ذاك الغزال النافر

    He turned from me like a fleeing gazelle;

    my soul be ransom for that fleeing gazelle.

  9. الله يا ذاكر أيام الحمى

    هيجت أحزان المشوق الذاكر

    Ah, you who recall the days of the protected grounds,

    you have stirred the sorrows of a lover who remembers.

  10. كانما قلبي إذا ذكرتهم

    معلق بين جناحي طائر

    Whenever I remember them, it is as though my heart

    hangs between a bird’s two wings.

  11. يا جيرة قلبي أسير حبّهم

    رفقاً بقلب الهائم المستأسر

    O neighbors, my heart is captive to their love;

    be gentle with this enthralled, imprisoned heart.

  12. سرتم تؤمون اللوى ومهجتي

    في اثر اظعانكم السوائر

    You set out toward al-Liwa, while my soul

    followed your traveling litters.

  13. لو انتجعتم مدمعي اغناكم

    بالدمع عن صوب الغمام الماطر

    Had you sought my tears, they would have supplied you

    with water in place of the pouring clouds.

  14. خضتم دجى ليل جلا ظلامه

    ضياء اقماركم السّوافر

    You crossed a dark night whose gloom was dispelled

    by the light of your unveiled moons.

  15. يذكو شذى الوادي الذي جزتم به

    عن ارج المسك الذكي العاطر

    The scent of the valley you passed through grew richer

    than the fragrance of fine, aromatic musk.

  16. لله ركب ضمنت خدوره

    زهر الدراري وشذا الازاهر

    What a caravan, whose secluded litters held

    the blossoms of stars and the scent of flowers!

  17. من غادة تبسم عن مفلج

    عذب اللمى منضد الجواهر

    Among them was a maiden whose smile revealed even teeth,

    sweet of lip and arrayed like jewels.

  18. حلو الجنى يجري خلال درّه

    سلافة عزت على المعاقر

    Sweet was their fruit; between their pearls flowed

    a choice wine rare even to seasoned drinkers.

  19. بحلية الحسن تحلت فغدت

    تميس في وشي الجمال الباهر

    Adorned with the ornaments of beauty, she became one who

    swayed in the brocade of dazzling loveliness.

  20. نجدية الأوطان بابلية

    الأجفان إذ ترنو بطرف ساحر

    Her homeland was Najd, her eyelids Babylonian

    when she gazed with an enchanting glance.

  21. قل لتقيل بسيوف لحظها

    مالك ما بين الورى من ثائر

    Tell her to show mercy with the swords of her glance;

    you have no avenger among humankind.

  22. يا عاذل الصب المشوق في الهوى

    لو ذقت طعم الحب كنت عاذري

    O you who reproach the lovesick, yearning one,

    had you tasted love, you would excuse me.

  23. دعني وأشجاني واسلم بالحشا

    وبت خلياً من هوى مخامر

    Leave me with my sorrows, and keep your heart safe;

    pass your night free of an intoxicating love.

  24. واحذر على قلبك ان تغتاله

    صوارم تنضى من المحاجر

    And guard your heart lest it be struck down

    by sharp blades drawn from eye sockets.

  25. أعلنت سرّي في الهوى مجاهراً

    ولذة الغرام للمجاهر

    I declared my secret in love openly,

    for love’s delight belongs to one who declares it.

  26. لم تدر ما لذة هجر بعده

    يأتي وصال من حبيب هاجر

    You do not know the pleasure of estrangement after which

    union comes from a beloved who had turned away.

  27. للحب أقوام سواك أرخصوا

    ما قد غلا للأعين الفواتر

    Love has people besides you who have given cheaply

    what was precious for the sake of languid eyes.

  28. ما طال ليلى غير ان صبوة

    طال بها ليل الكئيب الساهر

    My night grew long only because a passion

    lengthened the night of a sad, sleepless man.

  29. فمن عناء المستهام قوله

    هل لك يا ليل النوى من آخر

    Thus, in his suffering, the infatuated man says,

    ‘O night of separation, is there an end to you?’

  30. كأنما ليلي استعار طوله

    من الفروع السود والغدائر

    It is as though my night borrowed its length

    from black locks and flowing tresses.