يا مَن رآني في الكرى زعَماً

يا مَن رآني في الكرى زعَماً

وكأنّني أشتدّ في أثره

وكأنّني أشتدّ في أثره

O you who saw me in a dream, so you claim,

O you who saw me in the caravan as if

O you who envisioned me in slumber—a phantom claim,

And as though I were rushing in his wake,

I ardently pursued its trail,

As though I were rushing hard upon his trail,

فعلقتُ منهُ وقد لحقتُ به

فعلقتُ منهُ وقد لحقتُ به

غصناً يمجُ المسكَ من شعرِه

غصناً يمجُ المسكَ من شعرِه

So, having caught up with him, I clasped him—

So I clung to a bough from it that exuded

So I clung to him, having overtaken him,

A bough exuding musk from his hair.

The scent of musk from its hair,

A supple branch that scatters musk from his hair,

فهصرتهُ والبُهرُ كان بهِ

فهصرتهُ والبُهرُ كان بهِ

حتى إذا سكنتُ من بُهرِه

حتى إذا سكنتُ من بُهرِه

Then I bent him toward me, while he was breathless,

I inhaled its fragrance and was dazzled

I drew him down toward me while he was breathless,

Until, when I had calmed after his panting,

Until, when I recovered from the daze,

Until, when I had quieted his panting,

قلت الفراش فمرّ يقدمُني

قلت الفراش فمرّ يقدمُني

يرتج منه مكانُ مؤتزره

يرتج منه مكانُ مؤتزره

I said, “The bed!” and he went ahead of me,

I said to the butterfly, "Lead me on,"

I spoke of the bed, and he walked on before me,

The part of him beneath his waistcloth quivering.

It fluttered from the knot of its waist-wrap,

The place of his waist-wrapper quivering as he moved,

فقضيتُ منه في الكرى وطري

فقضيتُ منه في الكرى وطري

فصرتُ لم أبلغ مدى وطره

فصرتُ لم أبلغ مدى وطره

So in my dream I satisfied my desire with him,

So in the caravan I accomplished my want

So I fulfilled my desire with him in the slumber,

Yet I had not reached the full measure of his desire,

And returned no longer seeking its track,

Yet I remained as one who had not reached the end of wanting,

حتى إذا ما النوم زايلهُ

حتى إذا ما النوم زايلهُ

وصحا أخو الفَشيان من سكرِه

وصحا أخو الفَشيان من سكرِه

Until, when sleep had left him,

Until when sleep was leaving its companion

Until, when sleep departed from him,

And the drowsy one—if that is the uncertain term’s sense—awoke from his intoxication,

And the fellow of libertines awoke from his drunkenness

And the swooning one recovered from his intoxication,

ردّ الرقادُ عليه ثم هدا

ردّ الرقادُ عليه ثم هدا

نوم الغزالِ أوى إلى سحرِه

نوم الغزالِ أوى إلى سحرِه

Sleep returned to him; then he grew still.

Slumber returned to him, then it guided

Sleep returned to him, and then he settled,

A gazelle’s sleep nestled in his breast.

The sleep of a gazelle to its brink,

The sleep of a gazelle retreating to its shelter at dawn,

يا ليتَ طرفي كان وافقَهُ

يا ليتَ طرفي كان وافقَهُ

في النوم مجرى في ندى بشرِه

في النوم مجرى في ندى بشرِه

Oh, would that my gaze had joined him

Oh would that my eyes had coincided with it

Oh, would that my eye had coincided with him,

In sleep, coursing through the dew of his skin.

In sleep, following the dew of its cheeks,

In sleep, tracing a course upon the dew of his skin,

يبغي مواصلتي فيمنعهُ

يبغي مواصلتي فيمنعهُ

بيضٌ كأسدِ الغابِ من ثغره

بيضٌ كأسدِ الغابِ من ثغره

He seeks union with me, but is held back

Seeking union with me, but prevented

He seeks my union, yet he is prevented by

By white teeth from his mouth, like lions of the forest.

By a whiteness, like a lion's mouth in its fierceness.

Pearly whites, like forest lions, guarding his mouth