قسما بروضة خده ونباتها

قسما بروضة خده ونباتها

وبآسها المخضل في جنباتها

وبآسها المخضل في جنباتها

I swear by the garden of his cheek and its growth,

I swear by the garden of his cheek and its vegetation,

and by its myrtle, moist along its borders,

And by its softness embroidered into its sides,

وبسورة الحسن التي في خده

وبسورة الحسن التي في خده

كتب العذار بخطه آياتها

كتب العذار بخطه آياتها

and by the surah of beauty upon his cheek,

And by the chapter of beauty that is on his cheek,

whose verses the cheek-down wrote in its own script,

On which the lovesick wrote its verses,

وبقامة كالغصن إلا إنني

وبقامة كالغصن إلا إنني

لم أجن غير الصد من ثمراتها

لم أجن غير الصد من ثمراتها

and by a stature like a bough—except that I

And by a figure like a branch, though I

have reaped only rejection from its fruits—

Have reaped naught but affection from its fruits,

لأعزرن غصون بان زورت

لأعزرن غصون بان زورت

أعطافه بالقطع من عذباتها

أعطافه بالقطع من عذباتها

I shall surely chastise the boughs of bān that counterfeited

I shall blame the branches if I visit

his supple limbs, by cutting off their tips.

Their boughs and cut off their sweetness,

وأباكرن رياض وجنته التي

وأباكرن رياض وجنته التي

ما زهرة الدنيا سوى زهراتها

ما زهرة الدنيا سوى زهراتها

And I shall surely visit at dawn the gardens of his cheek, whose

And I shall awaken the gardens and its paradise

blossoms alone are the bloom of this world.

Which no flower of the world rivals but its own,

ولأصبحن للذتي متيقظا

ولأصبحن للذتي متيقظا

ما دامت الأيام في غفلاتها

ما دامت الأيام في غفلاتها

And I shall surely rise alert to my pleasure,

How many nights have I regretted its full moons,

as long as the days remain in their heedlessness.

As the sun rises in the palms of its rain-clouds,

كم ليلة نادمت بدر سمائها

كم ليلة نادمت بدر سمائها

والشمس تشرق في أكف سقاتها

والشمس تشرق في أكف سقاتها

How many a night I caroused with the full moon of its sky,

And the darkness of nights has flown with youth,

while the sun rose in the palms of its cupbearers!

Our cups but sparks upon their foreheads,

وجرت بنا دهم الليالي للصبا

وجرت بنا دهم الليالي للصبا

وكوؤسنا غرر على جبهاتها

وكوؤسنا غرر على جبهاتها

And the black steeds of night raced with us toward youthful passion,

I spent my dinar upon their dinars,

and our goblets were white blazes upon their foreheads.

And passed my years upon their hours,

فصرفت ديناري على دينارها

فصرفت ديناري على دينارها

وقضيت أعوامي على ساعاتها

وقضيت أعوامي على ساعاتها

So I exchanged my dinar for its dinar,

I differed from all imitators in passion

and expended my years upon its hours.

And strove studiously to reach their taverns,

خالفت في الصهباء كل مقلد

خالفت في الصهباء كل مقلد

وسعيت مجتهدا إلى حاناتها

وسعيت مجتهدا إلى حاناتها

Concerning tawny wine, I opposed every follower of precedent,

Until the wine was confused where to find its tubs,

and strove toward its taverns, exercising independent judgment.

And was guided by the fragrance of their breaths,

فتحير الخمار أين دنانها

فتحير الخمار أين دنانها

حتى اهتدى بالطيب من نفحاتها

حتى اهتدى بالطيب من نفحاتها

Then the wine-seller wondered where its jars were,

I smelled, saw, touched, drank it,

until its fragrant wafts guided him.

And heard the beauty of their attributes,

فشمتها ورأيتها ولمستها

فشمتها ورأيتها ولمستها

وشربتها وسمعت حسن صفاتها

وشربتها وسمعت حسن صفاتها

So I smelled it, saw it, and touched it,

And I followed every compliant one who does not fear

and drank it, and heard of its beautiful qualities.

The consequences of his sins when he commits them,

وتبعت كل مطاوع لا يخشى

وتبعت كل مطاوع لا يخشى

عند ارتكاب ذنوبه تبعاتها

عند ارتكاب ذنوبه تبعاتها

And I followed every willing companion who fears not

Who comes to pleasures through their doors,

his sins' consequences when he commits them.

And makes pilgrimage to passion from its sanctuaries,

يأتي إلى اللذات من أبوابها

يأتي إلى اللذات من أبوابها

ويحج للصهباء من ميقاتها

ويحج للصهباء من ميقاتها

He comes to pleasures through their doors,

Who knows the wine by its goodness, its type,

and makes pilgrimage to tawny wine from its appointed station.

Its merit, traits, and particles,

عرف المدام بحسنها وبنوعها

عرف المدام بحسنها وبنوعها

وبفضلها وصفاتها وذراتها

وبفضلها وصفاتها وذراتها

He knew wine by its beauty and its kind,

Oh friend, the entertainer has called out announcing

and by its excellence, its qualities, and its tiniest particles.

Is it fitting for the strings to prolong their silences?

يا صاح قد نطق الهزار مؤذنا

يا صاح قد نطق الهزار مؤذنا

أيليق بالأوتار طول سكاتها

أيليق بالأوتار طول سكاتها

O friend, the nightingale has already sounded the call to prayer;

So take the rising of the sun from our cups,

does such long silence befit the strings?

And perform the prayers of playfulness in its times,

فخذ ارتفاع الشمس من أقداحنا

فخذ ارتفاع الشمس من أقداحنا

وأقم صلاة اللهو في أوقاتها

وأقم صلاة اللهو في أوقاتها

So take the sun's altitude from our goblets,

If there remains, oh drink, any remainder,

and perform the prayer of revelry at its appointed times.

With which to dispel minds, then bring it here,

إن كان عند يا شراب بقية

إن كان عند يا شراب بقية

مما تزيل به العقول فهاتها

مما تزيل به العقول فهاتها

If there is any remnant at hand, O wine-pourer,

Wine of its names, and pearl of its crowns,

of what you use to banish reason, then bring it.

And musk of its breaths,

الخمر من أسمائها والدر من

الخمر من أسمائها والدر من

تيجانها والمسك من نسماتها

تيجانها والمسك من نسماتها

Wine is among its names, and pearls among

And when the wine beads are threaded,

its crowns, and musk among its breezes.

Beware shortchanging any of its beads,

وإذا العقود من الحباب تنظمت

وإذا العقود من الحباب تنظمت

إياك والتفريط في حباتها

إياك والتفريط في حباتها

And when necklaces of bubbles are strung,

Make red the strings if our souls

beware of squandering their beads.

Were soothed by stopping upon its motions,

أمحرك الأوتار إن نفوسنا

أمحرك الأوتار إن نفوسنا

سكناتها وقف على حركاتها

سكناتها وقف على حركاتها

O player of the strings, indeed our souls—

The lovesick circulated in the beauty of your face,

their repose depends upon the strings' movements.

No moons depart from their crescents,

دار العذار بحسن وجهك منشدا

دار العذار بحسن وجهك منشدا

لا تخرج الأقمار عن هالاتها

لا تخرج الأقمار عن هالاتها

The cheek-down circled your beautiful face, chanting:

The kohl of your eyelids spoke to my heart, yet

Moons do not stray beyond their halos.

No eloquence has brought the like of its languages,

كسرات جفنك كلمت قلبي فلم

كسرات جفنك كلمت قلبي فلم

تأت الصحاح لنا بمثل لغاتها

تأت الصحاح لنا بمثل لغاتها

The languid inflections of your eyelid spoke to my heart, yet

The full moon hides behind clouds and emerges

al-Ṣiḥāḥ offered us no language like theirs.

Like the breathing of a beauty before her mirror,

والبدر يستر بالغيوم وينجلي

والبدر يستر بالغيوم وينجلي

كتنفس الحسناء في مرآتها

كتنفس الحسناء في مرآتها

And the full moon is veiled by clouds, then reappears,

The breeze of the garden recited upon it,

as when a beauty breathes upon her mirror.

Inclining its branches with their intimacies,

وتلا نسيم الروض فيها قارئا

وتلا نسيم الروض فيها قارئا

فأمال من أغصانها ألفاتها

فأمال من أغصانها ألفاتها

And the garden breeze recited there like a reader,

And a beauty who spited my blamers

so it inclined the alifs among its branches.

Stood for my union against their evil wishes,

ومليحة أرغمت فيها عاذلي

ومليحة أرغمت فيها عاذلي

قامت إلى وصلي برغم وشاتها

قامت إلى وصلي برغم وشاتها

And a beauty, over whom I humbled my reproacher,

My face did not incline away from the rising of its beauty,

rose to join me, despite her slanderers.

And the life of the rising of its face and its life,

لا مال وجهي عن مطالع حسنها

لا مال وجهي عن مطالع حسنها

وحياة طلعة وجهها وحياتها

وحياة طلعة وجهها وحياتها

May my face never turn from the rising-places of her beauty,

Oh shyness of branches from its movements,

by the life of her face's radiance and by her own life!

And disgrace of gazelles from its gestures,

يا خجلة الأغصان من خطراتها

يا خجلة الأغصان من خطراتها

وفضيحة الغزلان من لفتاتها

وفضيحة الغزلان من لفتاتها

Oh, the branches' shame before her swaying steps,

The branch is not bending except for its boughs,

and the gazelles' disgrace before her glances!

The rose is not red except for its cheeks,

ما الغصن مياسا سوى أعطافها

ما الغصن مياسا سوى أعطافها

ما الورد محمرا سوى وجناتها

ما الورد محمرا سوى وجناتها

The swaying bough is nothing but her supple limbs;

And it promised the times of union as if

the crimson rose is nothing but her cheeks.

It thought our safety was until its times.

وعدت بأوقات الوصال كأنها

وعدت بأوقات الوصال كأنها

ظنت سلامتنا إلى أوقاتها

ظنت سلامتنا إلى أوقاتها

She promised times of union, as though she

thought we would survive until those times.