أراكُمْ بِعَيني أينَ كانتْ شُخوصُكُمْ

أراكُمْ بِعَيني أينَ كانتْ شُخوصُكُمْ

وقلبي خَفوقٌ كُلَّما خَفَقَ القُرْطُ

وقلبي خَفوقٌ كُلَّما خَفَقَ القُرْطُ

I see you with my own eyes, wherever your forms may be.

I see you all wherever your forms were

And my heart throbs whenever the earring sways.

And my heart flutters whenever the anklet jingles

نَظَمْتُ لكم قلبي بِسمطِ غَرامِكُمْ

نَظَمْتُ لكم قلبي بِسمطِ غَرامِكُمْ

فقلبي لكم عِقْدٌ يُزانُ به السِّمْطُ

فقلبي لكم عِقْدٌ يُزانُ به السِّمْطُ

I have strung my heart for you on the strand of my passion for you.

I threaded my heart for you with the cord of passion

So my heart is a necklace for you, with which the strand is adorned.

So my heart is for you a necklace balanced by its cord

ألا فارْحَموا حَرْفاً طَموساً مُطَلْمَساً

ألا فارْحَموا حَرْفاً طَموساً مُطَلْمَساً

ولا شَكْلُهُ يُدْرى ولا الرَّسْمُ والنَّقْطُ

ولا شَكْلُهُ يُدْرى ولا الرَّسْمُ والنَّقْطُ

Oh, have mercy on an effaced and obscured letter,

Oh, have mercy on a blurred, erased letter

Whose form is unknown, as are its outline and dots.

Whose shape is not known, nor the drawing, nor the dot

ومن عَجَبٍ قد ذابَ فيكمْ تَوَلُّهاً

ومن عَجَبٍ قد ذابَ فيكمْ تَوَلُّهاً

وأثْبَتَهُ صَبْرٌ له ضِمْنَهُ نمْطُ

وأثْبَتَهُ صَبْرٌ له ضِمْنَهُ نمْطُ

And, wondrously, it has melted in you, bewildered with love,

And from wonder it melted for you inclining

Yet patience held it firm, with a pattern of its own within.

And steadfastness fixed it, including in it a pattern

يُعارِضُهُ من ليسَ يَعْرِفُ ما الهَوى

يُعارِضُهُ من ليسَ يَعْرِفُ ما الهَوى

وقد مَسَّهُ من نَزْعِ حالِ السِّوى خبْطُ

وقد مَسَّهُ من نَزْعِ حالِ السِّوى خبْطُ

One who does not know what love is opposes it,

It is opposed by one who does not know what love is

And confusion has touched it through the stripping away of the state of otherness.

And one touched by the convulsion of losing composure has been struck

هُمُ القومُ حَسَّادٌ لَعَمْري وعُصْبَةٌ

هُمُ القومُ حَسَّادٌ لَعَمْري وعُصْبَةٌ

دَعاهُمْ لِتَقْريعي على حالتي الغَبْطُ

دَعاهُمْ لِتَقْريعي على حالتي الغَبْطُ

They are envious folk, by my life—a band

They are envious people, by my life, and a group

Whom admiring envy has summoned to rebuke me for my state.

Whose reproach of me is prompted by my state of bliss

شَرَطْتُ لهم لَوْمي إذا كُنتُ باقياً

شَرَطْتُ لهم لَوْمي إذا كُنتُ باقياً

وإن فُقِدَ المَشروطُ قد يُفْقَدُ الشَّرْطُ

وإن فُقِدَ المَشروطُ قد يُفْقَدُ الشَّرْطُ

I stipulated that they could blame me only if I still remained;

I stipulated for them to blame me if I remain

And if what is stipulated is lost, the condition too may be lost.

And if the stipulation is lost, the condition may be lost

كأنِّي خَيالٌ راحَ يَسْتُرهُ الغِطا

كأنِّي خَيالٌ راحَ يَسْتُرهُ الغِطا

وفيه لَعَمري من حِرابِ الهَوى غَطُّ

وفيه لَعَمري من حِرابِ الهَوى غَطُّ

As though I were a phantom the veil has begun to conceal,

It is as if I am an apparition who went to hide in a cover

And within it, by my life, the spears of love plunge.

Yet in it, by my life, are the ruins of passion

وها هو قلبي في الغَرامِ مُعلَّقٌ

وها هو قلبي في الغَرامِ مُعلَّقٌ

على الهَوى مِنِّي لا يُقيمُ ولا يَخْطو

على الهَوى مِنِّي لا يُقيمُ ولا يَخْطو

And here is my heart, suspended in passion,

And here is my heart suspended in passion

From me, upon love—neither settling nor taking a step.

On love from me, neither staying nor moving