جئننا بالشعور والحداق

وقسمن الحظوظ في العشاق

They came to us with their tresses and eyes,

And apportioned fortunes among the lovers.

حبذا القِسم في المحبين قِسمى

لو يلاقون في الهوى ما الاقى

How fine my lot among lovers would be,

If they encountered what I encounter in love.

حيلتي في الهوى وما اتمنى

حيلة الأذكياء في الأرزاق

My stratagem in love and in what I desire

Is the stratagem of the clever in seeking sustenance.

لو يجازي المحب عن فرط شوق

لجزيت الكثير عن أشواقي

If a lover were rewarded for intense longing,

I would be richly rewarded for my longings.

وفتاة ما زادها في غريب ال

حسن إلا غرائب الأخلاق

And a maiden—nothing heightened her rare

Beauty but the peculiarities of her character.

ذقت منها حلوا ومرا وكانت

لذة العشق في اختلاف المذاق

I tasted sweetness and bitterness from her, and

Love's delight lay in the contrast of flavors.

ضربت موعدا لما التقينا

جانبتني تقول فيم التلاقى

She set a tryst; when we met,

She shunned me, saying, 'Why meet?'

قلت ما هكذا المواثيق قالت

ليس للغانيات من ميثاق

I said, 'This is not how pledges are kept.' She said,

'Beauties are bound by no pledge.'

عطفتها نحافتي وشجاها

شافع بادر من الآماق

My gauntness softened her, and she was saddened

By an intercessor that sprang from the corners of my eyes.