1. متيَّمٌ بالصدود مُستهتَرْ

    قلقلَهُ شادن له أحورْ

    Love-stricken, obsessed with disdain;

    A dark-eyed young gazelle of his has unsettled him.

  2. أبدع في خَلقه مُصَوِّرُهُ

    فأكمل الحُسنَ فيه إذ صوَّرْ

    His maker excelled in shaping him,

    And so perfected beauty in him when he fashioned him.

  3. لا الشمس تحكيه في ملاحتها

    ولا هلال السماء إذ يبدر

    The sun in its loveliness does not resemble him,

    Nor the sky's crescent as it becomes full.

  4. من أين للبدر مثل عارضِه

    وأين للبدر شارب أخضر

    Where could the full moon find a cheek like his?

    And where could the full moon find a green mustache?

  5. طالبتُه قبلةً فغلَّظ لي

    وسلَّ نحوي بلحظه الخنجر

    I asked him for a kiss; he spoke harshly to me,

    And with his glance unsheathed the dagger toward me.

  6. ومالي حرم والك متى

    ما تحذر الموت قلت لا أحذر

    And [unclear wording in the source]—“When

    will you ever fear death?” I said, “I do not fear it.”

  7. مَن الجُلَنْدَى ومن يزيد ومَن

    عمرو ومن عامرٌ ومن عنتر

    Who is al-Julanda, and who is Yazid, and who is

    Amr, and who is Amir, and who is Antar?

  8. لستُ كمن قد يقول من جزعٍ

    هاتِ ردائي وهاتني المعجر

    I am not like one who might say in panic:

    “Bring my cloak, and bring me the head-wrap!”

  9. أنا المنايا أنا الحتوف أنا

    أشطر من كل شاطرٍ يُذكَر

    I am death, I am doom, I am

    Bolder than any rogue ever named.

  10. فلم أزل بالرُّقى أُدرِّجه

    حتى إذا لان حلَّ لي المئزر

    So I kept coaxing him with spells,

    Until he softened and untied the loincloth for me.

  11. فبِتُّ في ليلةٍ نعمتُ بها

    بطيب عيشٍ من الفتى الأقمر

    So I passed a night in which I delighted,

    In the sweetness of life the moon-bright youth gave me.