وغادَةٍ عادَتِ الدنيا ببهجَتِها

وغادَةٍ عادَتِ الدنيا ببهجَتِها

ما شِئْتَ من ذاتِ أَنوارِ ونُوَّارِ

ما شِئْتَ من ذاتِ أَنوارِ ونُوَّارِ

And a graceful maiden whose splendor renewed the world,

When morning came with its splendor

All you could wish for in a woman of radiance and blossoms.

You could have whatever you wished of luminous lights

سَعْدٌ لِمَنْ رَقَدَتْ في طَيِّ ساعِدِه

سَعْدٌ لِمَنْ رَقَدَتْ في طَيِّ ساعِدِه

قريسَةً لا بأَنياب وأَظفارِ

قريسَةً لا بأَنياب وأَظفارِ

Fortunate is he in the crook of whose arm she slept,

Happy is he who slept with her resting on his arm

Nipped, but not by fangs or claws.

Gently, not with fangs and claws

تَفْتَرُّ عن مَبْسِمٍ كالأُقْحُوانِ غَدَا

تَفْتَرُّ عن مَبْسِمٍ كالأُقْحُوانِ غَدَا

من ريقِهِ فَوْقَها طَلُّ النَّدى جاري

من ريقِهِ فَوْقَها طَلُّ النَّدى جاري

She smiles, revealing a mouth like daisies, now

She smiles with the radiance of early morning

With dewdrops from its saliva flowing over them.

Above her the dew drips its strands

ويستعيرُ نسيمَ الريحِ رائحةً

ويستعيرُ نسيمَ الريحِ رائحةً

من طِيبِ أَنفاسِها في عَرْفِهِ السَّاري

من طِيبِ أَنفاسِها في عَرْفِهِ السَّاري

And the wind’s breeze borrows a fragrance

And the breeze borrows its fragrance

From her sweet breath, in its wafting perfume.

From her sweet breath diffusing through the air

زَجَرْتُ في شأْنِها الأَطيارَ ساجِعَةً

زَجَرْتُ في شأْنِها الأَطيارَ ساجِعَةً

ولم يَخِبْ قَطُّ عندي زَجْرُ أَطيارِ

ولم يَخِبْ قَطُّ عندي زَجْرُ أَطيارِ

I read omens about her in the cooing birds,

I scolded the birds to stop their chatter

And augury from birds has never failed me.

My scolding of birds never fails

هذا شِعارُكَ تكُسونِي دقائِقَهُ

هذا شِعارُكَ تكُسونِي دقائِقَهُ

وهذِه هذِهِ لا شَكَّ أَشعاري

وهذِه هذِهِ لا شَكَّ أَشعاري

This is your inner garment; you clothe me in its fine threads,

This is your emblem clothing me in every detail

And these—these—are without doubt my poems.

These, no doubt, are my verses