1. قَلب يُحبك مولَعٌ

    حَذر عَلَيكَ مُروّعُ

    A heart that loves you is enthralled,

    fearful for you, terrified.

  2. لَم يَبقَ مِنهُ ما يَذو

    ب عَلَيكَ أَو يَتَصَدع

    Nothing remains of it to melt

    for you or be rent apart.

  3. وَمُتَيم عَفّ الضَمير

    غَليلُهُ لا يَنفَعُ

    And a love-stricken man, chaste in conscience:

    his burning longing avails him nothing.

  4. في غَير نَظرة وَامق

    عِندَ اللُقا لا يَطمَعُ

    For nothing beyond a lover's glance

    at meeting does he hope.

  5. دَنف بِوَحي جُفونك المَرضى

    إِلَيهِ يَقنَعُ

    Love-sick, with your languid eyelids' message

    to him, he is content.

  6. إِن كانَ يَمنَعك الغيو

    ر عَن الوِصال وَيَردَع

    If the jealous one keeps you

    from union and restrains you,

  7. فَيَدُ العَفاف أَشَدّ رَد

    عاً لِلمُحب وَأَمنَعُ

    then chastity's hand exerts a sterner restraint

    upon the lover, and is more forbidding.

  8. لا لَومَ أَن مَنع السُكو

    ن فَمِن أَحَب ممنعُ

    No blame for his denial of repose,

    for the one I love is beyond reach.

  9. شَمس تَلحّ لَكَي تَحققهُ

    العُيون فَتَدمَعُ

    A sun: they gaze intently to make him out—

    the eyes—and so they weep.

  10. في طَرفِهِ سحر عَن العَقل

    المُجَرد يَخدَع

    In his gaze is magic that beguiles

    one away from pure reason.

  11. يَفديك قَلب لا يَقرّ

    وَمُقلة لا تَهجَعُ

    A restless heart would ransom you,

    and an eye that never sleeps.

  12. لِمَ ذا الصُدود وَلَيسَ

    عِندي لِلتَجَلُد مَوضع

    Why this aversion, when there is

    no room in me for endurance?

  13. وَالحُسن وَالإِحسان عِندَك

    وَاللَطافة أَجمَع

    Beauty and kindness are yours,

    and all grace as well.

  14. فَعَلامَ تَرضى أَن يُسيء

    بِيَ الصُدود الموجع

    Why, then, are you content to let

    painful aversion do me harm?

  15. مَرني بِما تَهواهُ يا

    سَكني أَطيعُ وَأَسمَع

    Command me as you wish, O

    my solace: I obey and listen.

  16. فَالحرّ بعنوفي المَحبة

    لِلحَبيب وَيَخضَع

    For the freeborn man, in love, bows

    to the beloved and submits.

  17. وَيَروعَهُ أَعراض مِن

    يَهواهُ عَنهُ فَيجزَع

    And he is terrified when the one

    he loves turns away from him, and he is distraught.

  18. وَإِذا رَأَى وَجه المَنية

    بَغتة لا يَفزَع

    Yet if he sees the face of death

    suddenly, he is not afraid.

  19. يا مولَعاً بملام صَب

    عَذلُهُ لا يَنفَع

    O you intent on blaming a love-stricken man,

    rebuking him is of no use.

  20. قَدر الهَوى وَقَضى العَنا

    ءُ لَهُ فَماذا يَصنَع

    Love has decreed, and suffering has ruled

    his lot: what can he do?

  21. يا وَيح مَن يَشتاق يُغريه

    العَذول وَيولع

    Alas for one who yearns—he is incited

    by the reproacher, who goads him on.

  22. وَيَغرّهُ الصَبر المُحا

    ول وَهُوَ آل يَلمَع

    And the patience he attempts deceives him,

    though it is but a shimmering mirage.

  23. وَتَهيج ذِكراهُ حَما

    مات الأراك الوَقع

    His remembrance is stirred by the doves

    perching in the arak trees.

  24. فَيَكادُ يَسفَك إِن شَدا

    دَمُهُ حَمام يَسجَع

    His blood is almost spilled whenever

    a dove sings and coos.

  25. قَد قُلت إِذ حَمَ الفُرا

    ق فَخطبُهُ لا يَدفَع

    I said, when parting was decreed—

    its calamity cannot be averted—

  26. هَول الفراق أَشد مِن

    هَول الحَمام وَأَقطَع

    the terror of parting is greater than

    the terror of death, and more rending.

  27. وَأَشدُ مِنهُ مِن تَما

    دي الحُب ما أَتَوقَع

    And harsher than that, as love

    persists, is what I foresee.

  28. فَالبين جارِحة بِهِ

    كَبد المُحب تَبضع

    For separation is a wounding force; through it

    the lover's liver is cut apart.

  29. وَذر الدُموع عَلى المَعا

    لَم تَستَهلُّ فَتُسرع

    And let tears upon the landmarks

    pour forth and flow swiftly.

  30. فَالدَمع لِلعُشاق مِن

    أَلَم الصَبابة مُفزع

    For lovers, tears, from

    the pain of yearning, are a refuge.

  31. وَالمَوت بَعد الأَلف للصَب

    المُتَيم أَنفَع

    And death, after intimacy, is better for the yearning

    man enslaved by love.

  32. أَولا فَحق الدار عِندَك

    وَالحَبيب مُضيع

    Otherwise, the dwelling's due, in your keeping,

    and the beloved's are neglected.

  33. أَصفى مِن الدَمع الَّذي

    يَعصى العَذول وَيَهمع

    Purer than the tears that

    defy the reproacher and stream down,

  34. وَأَرق مِن نَفسي وَقَد

    أَزف الرَحيل وَوَدعوا

    and more delicate than my soul, when

    departure drew near and they bade farewell,

  35. شعر يَصوغ عُقودُهُ المَولى

    الأَجَل فَيَبدع

    is verse whose necklaces are fashioned by the master,

    the most illustrious, with wondrous skill:

  36. الفاضل القطن الأَديب

    الأَلمَعيّ الأَروَع

    the virtuous, discerning man of letters,

    the brilliant, splendid one.

  37. نَسل الأَولى بَلَغوا الكَما

    ل فَلاحِقوهُم ظَلع

    Scion of those who attained perfection,

    while those following them limp behind.

  38. بَدر بِآفاق العُلا

    مَن بَعد بَدر يَطلَع

    A full moon in the horizons of eminence,

    who rises after a full moon.

  39. سَلَكوا طَريقاً في المَكا

    رم أَيأست مِن يَتبع

    They took a path through noble deeds

    that made their followers despair.

  40. وَشَأوا بِمَجدِهُم الأَنا

    م فَلَيسَ فيهِ مَطمَع

    And in their glory they outstripped humankind;

    there is no hope of attaining it.

  41. مِن عِلمِهِ وَنَوالِهِ

    عَن طالب لا يَمنَع

    Of his learning and his bounty,

    he withholds nothing from a seeker.

  42. لا سودد إِلّا وَسو

    ددهُ أَعزّ وَأَرفَع

    There is no eminence but his

    is mightier and loftier.

  43. وَالحلم وَالمَعروف مِنهُ

    وَالمَكارم أَوسَع

    And his forbearance and beneficence,

    and noble deeds, are more abundant.

  44. وَلِظَرفِهِ وَحَديثِهِ

    في كُل قَلب موقع

    And his wit and his conversation

    find a place in every heart.

  45. وَبِقَلبِهِ للعلم وَالحُكم

    الجَليلة مَنبَع

    And in his heart, learning and wisdom

    of high import have a wellspring.

  46. يا مَن عَلَيهِ مِن الكَرا

    مة حلة لا تُنزَع

    O you who wear, of honor,

    a robe that is never taken off,

  47. أَكرَمت عَبدك فَهُوَ مَشغوف

    بِشُكرك مُولَع

    you have honored your servant, and he is passionately

    devoted to thanking you.

  48. قَسَماً بود قَد رَسى

    لَكَ في الحَشا لا يقلع

    I swear by an affection firmly anchored

    for you within my breast, never uprooted,

  49. وَبِقَدرك السامي وَفي

    تِلكَ الأَلية مُقنع

    and by your lofty worth—and in

    that oath there is ample assurance—

  50. أَبَداً يَحنُ إِلَيكَ

    قَلبي ما بَقيت وَيَنزَع

    forever yearns toward you

    my heart, as long as I live, and is drawn to you.

  51. فَاسلم وَدُم لِلمَجد

    بِالعَيش الرَغيد تَمتع

    So be safe, and endure for glory;

    enjoy a life of ease.