1. Is one enamored by such beauty to be blamed?
The infatuated and lovelorn are spent by it.
١. أَفي مِثْلِ هَذَا الحُسْنِ يُعْذَلُ مُغْرَمُ
لَقَدْ تَعِبَ اللَّاحِي بِهِ والمُتيَّمُ
2. Look again more closely - you may have missed it.
You'll find that which gives eyes pleasure and pain.
٢. أَعِدْ نَظراً فيهِ عَساكَ جَهِلْتهُ
تَجِدْ ما بِهِ تَشْقَى العُيونُ وتَنْعَمُ
3. I shield its beauty when I aim arrows at it,
Then turn again a hopeful gazer towards it.
٣. أُعيذ مُحيَّاهُ إِذَا رُمْتُ إِنّني
أُعيد إِليهِ ناظِراً يتوسَّمُ
4. I cast a glance as if the heart of its letters
Were, for my eyes, a cure for its longing and thirst.
٤. وَأَلقى سَناً لو كانَ قَلْبُ حُروفِهِ
لِعيْني بِهِ لم يَشْكُ وَحْشَته فَمُ