1. زارني واللّيلُ داج

    عندما نامت وشُاة

    He visited me while the night was dark,

    when the tale-bearers had fallen asleep.

  2. يتهادى في ارتجاج

    قدُّهُ باهي الصّفات

    He moved gracefully, swaying,

    his figure splendid in every feature.

  3. وسقاني بامتزاج

    ريقهُ ماء الحياة

    And he gave me a mingled draught—

    his saliva, the water of life—

  4. بين زهر ورياض

    بمغان مُطربات

    amid flowers and gardens,

    in delightful retreats.

  5. بتُّ والمحبوبُ راض

    ووشُاني في شتات

    I passed the night with my beloved content,

    and my tale-bearers scattered.

  6. أدر الكأس علينا

    وأزل عنها الختاما

    Pass the cup around among us,

    and remove its seal.

  7. وأهدها منك إلينا

    واجلها بين الندامى

    And offer it from you to us,

    and unveil it among the drinking companions.

  8. وأقض من دهرك دينا

    طالما جار وضاما

    And exact from time the debt it owes you,

    for long has it wronged and oppressed.

  9. وحبيبي بدرُ تمّ

    بشموس الرّاح يسعى

    And my beloved is a full moon,

    moving about with suns of wine:

  10. رشأ يرمي بسهم

    ولهُ الأحشاءُ مرعى

    a young gazelle shooting an arrow,

    whose pasture is the heart's depths.

  11. اسقني وسط الزُّهور

    بين رنّات المثاني

    Give me drink amid the flowers,

    to the ringing notes of the lute strings.

  12. واغتنم وقت السّرُور

    من غفيلات الزّمان

    And seize the time of joy

    from time's brief lapses of attention,

  13. من يد الّظبي الغرير

    مالهُ في الحسن ثان

    from the hand of the guileless gazelle,

    who has no equal in beauty.

  14. وطُيور الأيك غنّت

    فوق أدواح الغصون

    And the birds of the grove sang

    atop the great branching trees.

  15. كلّما حنّت ورنّت

    هيّجت منّي شُجون

    Whenever they crooned and trilled,

    they stirred sorrows within me.

  16. أنشدت صوتا شجيّا

    أورث القلب هُياما

    They sang a plaintive song

    that filled the heart with passionate longing.

  17. وهي تبكي جليّا

    كان سمّوهُ حماما

    And as they wept openly,

    they had called him a dove;

  18. كان في الحسن عليّا

    عبّرت عنهُ كلاما

    he was exalted in beauty.

    They voiced words on his behalf,

  19. بمقال فيه يرثي

    نفسهُ عند الممات

    in a speech in which he lamented

    himself at the moment of death.

  20. زادني حُزني وبثي

    فهو يا كلّ الرُواةّ

    It deepened my sorrow and anguish;

    so here it is, O all you narrators:

  21. يا لقومي ضيّعوني

    ورأوا قتلي مُباحا

    Alas for my people! They abandoned me

    and deemed my killing lawful.

  22. للمنايا أسلموني

    عندما سلّوا الصّفاحا

    They surrendered me to death

    when they drew their broad blades.

  23. سيروا إذ غيّبوني

    تُملأ الدُّنيا نُواحا

    Go forth, now that they have buried me;

    the world will be filled with wailing.

  24. ضيّعوني ببديل

    مالهُ بعض جمال

    They cast me aside for a substitute

    who has not a fraction of beauty.

  25. ولكم لي من قتيل

    بلحاظ كالنّبال

    And how many have I slain

    with glances like arrows!

  26. غيّبوا طلعة شمس

    عدُموا منها المثيلا

    They hid the radiant face of a sun

    whose equal they could not find.

  27. صيّرُوا من بعد أنس

    فيه إيحاشا طويلا

    After companionship, they left

    a long desolation there.

  28. لو فدتني كلُّ نفس

    كان في حقّي قليلا

    If every soul had ransomed me,

    it would have been little compared with my due.

  29. فارحموني من جفاهُم

    لا ولا رأوا صنيعا

    So pity me for their cruelty;

    no—may they never meet with kindness!

  30. لو دروا ما ضاع عنهم

    قُتلوا دُوني جميعا

    Had they known what they had lost,

    they would all have been killed defending me.

  31. انظرُوا الاحجار تبكي

    بدم عنّي نجيعا

    Look at the stones weeping

    for me with crimson blood.

  32. وطُيورُ الأيك تشكي

    ألما عنّي وجيعا

    And the birds of the grove bewail

    a grievous pain for me.

  33. وغضيضُ النّبت يحكي

    من ذُبول في قليعا

    And the tender growth tells

    of wilting in an uprooted plant.

  34. تحزنُ الأوتارُ عنّي

    كلّها حُزنا جميلا

    The strings grieve for me,

    all of them, with a beautiful sorrow.

  35. والأغاني بعد دفني

    دُفنت دفنا طويلا

    And the songs, after my burial,

    were buried for long.

  36. قُلتُ يا أهل البلاد

    هاكها تجري دماء

    I said, O people of this land,

    behold it flowing as blood!

  37. هل مُغيثٌ لفؤادي

    مُنقذي من ذا البلاء

    Is there anyone to succor my heart,

    to rescue me from this affliction?

  38. فكأنّي إذ انادي

    صاح صخرٌ من خلاء

    And when I call, it is as though

    a rock cried out from an empty waste.

  39. هكذا قدّر عنّي

    من يراني من تُراب

    Thus was it decreed concerning me

    by one who sees me as made of dust.

  40. فامرُوا بعدي المغنّي

    يتغّني بمصابي

    So after me, command the singer

    to sing of my calamity.

  41. العنواالجلاد بعدي

    قاتلي قاسي الجنان

    Curse the executioner after me,

    my killer, hard of heart.

  42. أوما شاهد قدّي

    ينثني كالخيزران

    Did he not behold my figure,

    bending like bamboo,

  43. ورأى ياقُوت خدّي

    حول ثغر من جُمان

    and see the ruby of my cheek

    around a mouth of pearls,

  44. وجبينا فاض نُورا

    ولحاظا فاترات

    and a brow overflowing with light,

    and languid glances

  45. تقطعُ الأسياف لولا

    فرغت منّي الحياة

    that would cleave swords, had not

    life drained away from me?

  46. لعنت قومٌ رأت في

    حلبتي مثلي معادا

    Accursed be a people who saw, in

    my arena, my equal recreated.

  47. ما رأوا حًسني ولطفي

    وقوامي يتهادى

    They never saw my beauty and grace,

    or my stature swaying gracefully.

  48. لو دروا كامل وصفي

    كنتُ بالروّح أفادي

    Had they known all my qualities,

    I would have been ransomed at the cost of life—

  49. وجميع الناّس طُرّا

    وبنيهم طائعين

    by all people, every one,

    and their children, willingly—

  50. ويرون العيش مراً

    بعد فقدي أجمعين

    and they would find life bitter

    after losing me, all of them.