بدا علم للحب يممت نحوه — أبو زيد الفازازي

بَدا عَلَمٌ للحُبِّ يَمَّمتُ نَحوَهُ

فَلَم أنقَلِب حَتَّى احتَسَبتُ بهِ قَلبِي

A banner of love appeared; I made my way toward it.

And I did not return until I had reckoned my heart lost to it.

بَلَوتُ الهَوى قَبلَ الهوى فَوجَدتُهُ

إسَاراً بلا فَكٍّ سَقَاماً بلا طُبِّ

I tested love before falling in love, and found it

Bondage without release, sickness without a cure.

بنَفسِي حَبيبٌ لا أُصَرِّحُ باسمِهِ

وَكُلُّ مُحِبٍّ فهو يَكنِي عَنِ الحِبِّ

My life be ransom for a beloved whose name I do not disclose.

And every lover speaks of the beloved indirectly.

بَرَاني هَواهُ ظَاهِراً بَعدَ باطنٍ

فجِسمي بلا رُوحٍ وقَلبي بلا لُبِّ

Love for him wasted me outwardly after wasting me within;

So my body is without a soul, and my heart without reason.

بِحُبِّكً هَل لِي في لِقَائكَ مَطمَعٌ

فإنِّيَ مِن كَرب عَلَيكَ إلَى كَربِ

By my love for you, have I any hope of meeting you?

For, because of you, I pass from anguish to anguish.

بكُلِّ طَرِيقٍ لي إليكَ مَنِيَّةٌ

كأنّي مَعَ الأيَّامِ بَعدَكَ في حَربِ

On every road to you, death awaits me,

As though, in your absence, I were at war with the days.

بكَيتُ فَقَالُوا أنتَ بالحُبِّ بَائحٌ

صَمَتُّ فقالوا أنتَ خِلوٌُ مِنَ الحُبِّ

I wept, and they said, "You are revealing your love."

I kept silent, and they said, "You are free of love."

بَوارِقُ لاحَت للوصَالِ فَشِمتُها

فيا بُعدُ بُعداً قَد دَنَا زَمَنُ القُربِ

Flashes of lightning heralding union gleamed, and I watched them.

So, O distance, away with you! The time of nearness has drawn near.

بقيتُ فَهَل يَبقَى صُبابَةُ لوعةٍ

تُقلّبهُ الأشواقُ جَنباً إلى جَنبِ

I have survived—but can a remnant of burning anguish survive,

Tossed by longings from side to side?

بَلَغتُ المُنى مِمَّن أحِبُّ بِحُبهِ

ولا بُدَّ للمَربُوبِ مِن رَحمَةِ الرَّبِّ

I attained my wishes from the one I love, through love for him;

And the one in the Lord's care cannot be without the Lord's mercy.