1. أدِرْ ذِكْرَ مَن أهْوى ولو بمَلامِ

    فإنّ أحاديثَ الحَبيبِ مُدامي

    Pass round mention of the one I love, even in reproach;

    For tales of the beloved are my wine.

  2. ليَشْهَدَ سَمْعِي مَن أُحبُّ وإن نأى

    بطَيفِ مَلامٍ لا بطَيفِ مَنام

    Let my hearing behold the one I love, though far away,

    Through an apparition of reproach, not an apparition of sleep.

  3. فلي ذِكْرُها يَحلو على كلّ صيغةٍ

    وإنْ مَزَجوهُ عُذِّلي بخِصام

    For me, mention of her is sweet in every form,

    Even if my reproachers mix it with contention.

  4. كأنّ عَذولي بالوِصالِ مُبَشّرِي

    وإن كنتُ لم أطمَعْ بِرَدّ سلام

    As though my reproacher were heralding union to me,

    Though I had not hoped for a greeting in return.

  5. بِرُوحيَ مَن أتلفْتُ روحي بحُبّها

    فحانَ حِمامي قبلَ يومِ حِمامِي

    My soul for her, for love of whom I destroyed my soul;

    So my death came before my day of death.

  6. ومن أجلها طاب افتضاحي ولذّ لي اطْ

    طِراحي وذُلّي بعد عزّ مَقامي

    For her sake my disgrace became sweet, and I delighted in being cast—

    Aside, and in my abasement after the dignity of my station.

  7. وفيها حلا لي بعْدَ نُسْكِي تهتُّكي

    وخَلْعُ عِذاري وارتكابُ أثامي

    And for her, after my devotion, my shamelessness grew sweet to me,

    And throwing off my bridle and committing my sins.

  8. أُصَلّي فأشدو حين أتلو بِذِكْرِهَا

    وأطْرَبُ في المحراب وهي إمامي

    I pray, and as I recite, I sing of her,

    And am enraptured in the prayer niche, with her as my imam.

  9. وبالحَج إن أحرَمتُ لبَيّتُ باسْمها

    وعنَها أرى الإِمساكَ فِطْرَ صيامي

    And on pilgrimage, if I enter consecration, I chant "Here I am" in her name;

    And I deem abstinence from her the breaking of my fast.

  10. أروحُ بقلبٍ بالصّبابةِ هائمٍ

    وأغْدُو بطَرْفٍ بالكآبة هامِ

    At evening I go with a heart lost in longing,

    And at morning with an eye streaming with sorrow.

  11. وشأني بشأني معرب وبما جرى

    جَرَى وانتحابي مُعرِب بِهَيَامي

    My tear-channel declares my state, and because of what has happened

    It has flowed; my sobbing declares my love-madness.

  12. فقلْبي وطَرْفي ذا بمعنى جَمالِها

    مُعَنّىً وذا مُغرىً بِلِينِ قَوام

    My heart and my eye: the one, by the essence of her beauty,

    Is tormented; the other is captivated by her supple figure.

  13. ونَوميَ مفقود وصُبحي لك البقا

    وسُهديَ موجود وشوقيَ نام

    My sleep is lost; my dawn—may you outlive it!

    My sleeplessness remains, and my longing grows.

  14. وعَقدي وعهدي لم يُحَلّ ولم يَحُل

    وَوَجْدِيَ وجْدي والغَرام غرامي

    My bond and my pledge have not been undone or changed;

    My passion is my passion, and ardent love is my ardent love.

  15. يشِفّ عن الأسرارِ جِسْمي من الضّنى

    فيَغْدو بها معنىً نُحولُ عظامي

    My body grows transparent from wasting sickness, revealing secrets,

    So through them, the wasting of my bones becomes meaning.

  16. طريحُ جَوى حبٍّ جريحُ جوانحٍ

    قريحُ جفونٍ بالدّوام دَوَامي

    Laid low by love's burning ache, wounded in the ribs,

    With sore eyelids that bleed without cease.

  17. صريحُ هوًى جارَيْتُ من لُطْفيَ الهَوا

    سُحَيْراً فأنفاسُ النّسيمِ لمامي

    Pure in love, through my fineness I kept pace with the air

    Just before dawn; the breeze's breaths are all that remains of me.

  18. صحيح عليل فاطلبوني مِن الصَّبا

    ففيها كما شاء النّحولُ مُقامي

    Sound yet ailing: seek me in the east wind,

    For there, as wasting willed, is my dwelling.

  19. خَفَيتُ ضَنًى حتى خَفَيتُ عن الضّنى

    وعن بُرْءِ أسقامي وبَرْدِ أُوامي

    I vanished through wasting until I vanished from wasting itself,

    And from the healing of my ailments and the cooling of my burning thirst.

  20. ولم أَدْرِ من يدري مكاني سوى الهوى

    وكِتْمان أسراري ورعي ذِمامي

    And I know not who knows my place, save love,

    The concealment of my secrets and the keeping of my pledge.

  21. ولم يُبْقِ منّي الحبُّ غيرَ كآبَةٍ

    وحُزْنٍ وتبريحٍ وفرْطِ سَقام

    And love has left of me nothing but gloom,

    And grief, torment, and extreme sickness.

  22. فأَمّا غرامي واصطباري وسلوتي

    فلم يبقَ لي منهُنَّ غير أسامي

    As for my passion, my patience, and my consolation,

    Nothing of them remains to me but names.

  23. لِيَنْجُ خَلِيٌّ من هوايَ بنفسِهِ

    سليماً ويا نفس اذْهبي بسَلام

    Let one free of love escape my passion with his life,

    Unharmed; and O soul, depart in peace.

  24. وقال اسْلُ عنها لائمي وهو مُغْرَمٌ

    بلَوْمِيَ فيها قلتُ فاسْلُ ملامي

    My reproacher said, "Forget her," though he was enamored

    Of reproaching me for her; I said, "Then forget reproaching me."

  25. بمن أهتدي في الحبّ لو رُمْتُ سَلوَةً

    وبي يَقْتَدي في الحبّ كلُّ إمام

    Whom could I follow in love, if I sought to forget,

    When every guide in love takes me as his model?

  26. وفي كلّ عُضْوٍ فيَّ كُلُّ صَبَابَةٍ

    إليها وشَوْقٍ جاذبٍ بزِمَامي

    And in every limb of mine is all ardent longing

    For her, and yearning that draws me by my reins.

  27. تَثَنَّتْ فخِلْنَا كُلَّ عِطْفٍ تهُزُّه

    قَضِيبَ نقاً يَعْلُوهُ بدرُ تَمام

    She swayed, and we fancied each flank she moved

    A branch on a sand dune, crowned by a full moon.

  28. ولي كُلّ عُضوٍ فيه كلّ حشاً بها

    إذا ما رَنَتْ وقعٌ لكلّ سِهام

    Every limb of mine holds every heart, and from her,

    Whenever she gazes, receives the impact of every arrow.

  29. ولو بسطتْ جسْمي رأتْ كلّ جوهرٍ

    به كُلّ قلبٍ فيه كُلّ غَرام

    And if she spread out my body, she would see every atom

    Containing every heart, and in each heart every passion.

  30. وفي وَصْلِهَا عام لدَيّ كلَحْظَةٍ

    وساعةُ هِجْرانٍ عَلَيَّ كعامِ

    In union with her, a year to me is like a moment,

    And an hour of separation is like a year to me.

  31. ولمّا تلاقَينا عِشاءً وضمَّنا

    سواءُ سبيلَيْ دارِها وخيامي

    And when we met at evening, brought together by

    The midpoint of the paths to her house and my tents,

  32. ومِلْنَا كذا شيئاً عن الحيّ حيثُ لا

    رقيبٌ ولا واشٍ بِزُورِ كَلام

    And turned a little aside from the encampment, where there was no

    Watcher, nor tale-bearer with lying words,

  33. فَرَشْتُ لها خدّي وِطاءً على الثّرَى

    فقالت لكَ البُشْرَى بلَثْمِ لِثامي

    I spread my cheek for her as a carpet on the earth;

    She said, "Rejoice—you may kiss my veil."

  34. فما سَمَحَتْ نفسي بذَلِكَ غَيرَةً

    على صَوْنها منّي لِعزّ مرامي

    But my soul would not permit it, out of jealousy

    For keeping her inviolate even from myself, so lofty was my aim.

  35. وبِتْنَا كما شاء اقتراحي على المُنى

    أَرَى المُلْكَ مُلْكِي والزمانَ غلامي

    We spent the night as my desire willed, with wishes fulfilled;

    I saw dominion as mine, and time as my servant.