أتُرى صَحَا وأفاقَ مِن سكر الجوى

أتُرى صَحَا وأفاقَ مِن سكر الجوى

ولَوى عنانَ عهود سُكان اللَّوى

ولَوى عنانَ عهود سُكان اللَّوى

Do you think he has sobered and awakened from passion’s intoxication,

Does dawn wake and sober from the intoxication of passion?

and turned aside the reins of his pledges to al-Liwā’s dwellers?

And turn away from the promises of the inhabitants of desire?

هَيْهَاتَ بَلْ أذكتْ جواه يدُ النّوى

هَيْهَاتَ بَلْ أذكتْ جواه يدُ النّوى

وغَدَتْ يد التّذكار تَنشر ما انْطوى

وغَدَتْ يد التّذكار تَنشر ما انْطوى

Far from it! Rather, separation’s hand kindled his anguish,

Alas! Rather, the fingers of longing have rekindled his passion,

and remembrance’s hand began unfolding what had lain folded.

And the hand of recollection spreads what was folded.

وإلى العَقيق صَبَا وقد كان أرعوى

وإلى العَقيق صَبَا وقد كان أرعوى

وبدا لهُ من بعدِ ما انْدَمل الهوى

وبدا لهُ من بعدِ ما انْدَمل الهوى

And he yearned for al-ʿAqīq, though he had held himself back;

To al-‘Aqiq he wandered, though he had been tranquil,

and, after love’s wound had healed, there appeared to him

And after the infatuation subsided there appeared to him

برقٌ تألّق مَوهناً لمعانه

برقٌ تألّق مَوهناً لمعانه

فأَبّاحَ من سرِّ الغرام مَصونَهُ

فأَبّاحَ من سرِّ الغرام مَصونَهُ

a lightning flash, its radiance gleaming late at night.

A flash of lightning whose gleam revealed his weakness,

And so it disclosed love’s guarded secret,

So he confessed the secret of his love,

وأَسَالَ من ماءِ العيون عيونَهُ

وأَسَالَ من ماءِ العيون عيونَهُ

وأَطَال لَوعتَهُ وزادَ حنينَهُ

وأَطَال لَوعتَهُ وزادَ حنينَهُ

and made fountains flow from the waters of his eyes,

And poured forth from the water of his eyes, his eyes,

and prolonged his anguish and increased his yearning.

And prolonged his burning grief and increased his yearning.

آهاً لَه برقاً آثارَ شجونَهُ

آهاً لَه برقاً آثارَ شجونَهُ

كالسَّيفِ أخلَصَتِ القيونُ متونَه

كالسَّيفِ أخلَصَتِ القيونُ متونَه

Ah for that lightning flash which stirred his sorrows!

Alas for him! The lightning disclosed the traces of his anguish,

Like a sword whose surfaces the smiths have refined,

Like a loyal sword that bared its blade.

يبدو كحاشية الرّداء ودونَه

يبدو كحاشية الرّداء ودونَه

صعْبُ الذُّرى مُتمنّع أركانُه

صعْبُ الذُّرى مُتمنّع أركانُه

it appears like the hem of a cloak, and beneath it

It appears like the border of a cloak without its lining,

lies a mass with forbidding summits and unassailable flanks.

Difficult to climb, with parts made inaccessible,

مُذْ لاحَ جانَسهُ بلَفْظٍ مُتّفِقْ

مُذْ لاحَ جانَسهُ بلَفْظٍ مُتّفِقْ

شربَ الدموعَ وقد شرى حتى شرقْ

شربَ الدموعَ وقد شرى حتى شرقْ

When it flashed, he matched it with a like-sounding word:

Since he met with words of mutual understanding,

he drank tears as it flared, until he choked;

He drank tears until he was intoxicated and lost consciousness,

وأصابَهُ سكرُ الغرامِ فلم يُفِقِ

وأصابَهُ سكرُ الغرامِ فلم يُفِقِ

ونَفى الكرى فجفونُه لم تَنْطبقْ

ونَفى الكرى فجفونُه لم تَنْطبقْ

and love’s intoxication seized him, so he did not sober,

And the intoxication of love overcame him and he did not recover,

and banished sleep, so his eyelids would not close.

He wished to banish sorrow so his eyelids would close,

وأراد يشفي قُرحَ ناظِره الأرِقْ

وأراد يشفي قُرحَ ناظِره الأرِقْ

فمضَى لينظرَ كيفَ لاحَ فلم يطقْ

فمضَى لينظرَ كيفَ لاحَ فلم يطقْ

And he wanted to heal the soreness of his sleepless eye,

And he wanted to heal the wounds of his sleepless eyes,

so he went to see how it flashed, but could not bear

So he went to look - how the lightning flashed - but he could not bear

نظراً إليه وصدّهُ سبحانُهُ

نظراً إليه وصدّهُ سبحانُهُ

أتُرى الفؤاد إلى السلوّ يطيعُهُ

أتُرى الفؤاد إلى السلوّ يطيعُهُ

a look toward it; its glory held him back.

To look at it, and glory be to God, it turned him away.

Do you think the heart will obey him in forgetting,

Does the heart obey him and return from the claim of love?

ويصحّ عن دعوى الغرام رجوعُه

ويصحّ عن دعوى الغرام رجوعُه

والبرق يفشي سرَّه ويذيعُه

والبرق يفشي سرَّه ويذيعُه

and that his retraction of love’s claim is valid,

And recover from the pretence of passion?

while lightning reveals his secret and spreads it abroad?

While the lightning reveals his secret and spreads it?

هَبْهُ حكى ما قَدْ روتْه دموعُهُ

هَبْهُ حكى ما قَدْ روتْه دموعُهُ

في الحُبِّ أينَ لهيبُه وولوعُهُ

في الحُبِّ أينَ لهيبُه وولوعُهُ

Grant that it retold what his tears had already narrated

Tell the tale of what his tears have recounted!

of love—where are its blaze and its ardor?

Where is its ardour and obsession in love?

فالنّار ما اشتَملتْ عليهِ ضلوعُهُ

فالنّار ما اشتَملتْ عليهِ ضلوعُهُ

والماءُ ما سمَحَتْ بهِ أجفانه

والماءُ ما سمَحَتْ بهِ أجفانه

For fire is what his ribs enclose,

For the fire has not enveloped his ribs,

and water is what his eyelids freely yield.

Nor has the water allowed his eyelids to be stained.