جوانحنا شوقا إليكم جوانح — أبو المعالي الطالوي

جَوانِحُنا شَوقاً إِلَيكُم جَوانِحُ

وَأَلبابُنا تَصبو لَكُم وَالجَوارِحُ

Our ribs lean toward you in longing,

And our minds yearn for you, as do our limbs.

وَمَغناكُمُ مَغنى الهَوى يا سَقى الهَوى

وَأَيّامُهُ غادٍ مِنَ المُزنِ رائِحُ

And your dwelling is love’s dwelling—oh, may love be watered,

And its days, by a raincloud coming morning and evening;

وَخصّ الصِبا حَيثُ الشَبيبَةُ أَيكَةٌ

بِأَغصانِها وُرقُ الأَماني صَوادِحُ

And may it favor youth especially, where youthfulness is a grove,

Upon whose branches the gray doves of wishes sing;

وَحَيثُ الحِمى رَوضٌ أُطارِحُ أَهلَهُ

أَحاديث أَشجاني بِهَم وَتُطارِحُ

And where the haven is a meadow, I share with its people

Tales of my sorrowful longing for them; sharing them in turn are

مَعاهِدُ أَحبابي وَمَربى مَآربي

وَأَوطانُ أَوطاري إِذ العَيشُ صالِحُ

The haunts of my loved ones and the nursery of my desires,

And the homes of my wishes, when life was good,

وَإِذ أَنا مِن حُسّانةِ الجيد ناعِماً

أُغادِي الصِبا فَرطَ الهَوى وَأُراوِحُ

And when I, delighting in a lovely-necked beauty,

Kept company with youth morning and evening, in love’s excess.

مَتى اِبتَسَمَت عَن ذي لَمىً قُلتُ مُنشِداً

بِأَدنى اِبتِسام مِنك تَحيا القَرائِحُ

Whenever she smiled, revealing dusky lips, I recited:

“With the faintest smile from you, poetic gifts come alive.”