1. كَأَنّي أَرى في اللَيلِ نَصلاً مُجَرَّدا

    يَطيرُ بِكِلتا صَفحَتَيهِ شَرارُ

    It is as though I see an unsheathed blade in the night,

    Sparks fly along both its faces.

  2. تُقَلِّبُهُ لِلعَينِ كَفٌّ خَفِيَّةٌ

    فَفيهِ خُفوقٌ تارَةً وَقَرارُ

    An unseen hand turns it before the eye;

    So it quivers at one moment and is still at another.

  3. يُماثِلُ نَصلي في صَفاءِ فِرِندِهِ

    وَيَحكيهِ مِنهُ رَونَقٌ وَغِرارُ

    It resembles my blade in the clarity of its damask pattern,

    And its sheen and cutting edge mirror mine.

  4. أَراهُ فَتُدنيني إِلَيهِ شَراسَتي

    فَيَنأى وَفي نَفسي إِلَيهِ أُوارُ

    I see it, and my ferocity draws me toward it,

    Yet it recedes, while my soul burns with longing for it.

  5. وَأَهوي بِزَندي طامِعاً في اِلتِقاطِهِ

    فَيُدرِكُهُ عِندَ الدُنُوِّ نِفارُ

    And I sweep down with my forearm, hoping to grasp it,

    Then, at my approach, an urge to flee overtakes it.

  6. تَخَبَّطَني مَسٌّ مِنَ الجِنِّ أَم سَرَت

    بِأَجزاءِ نَفسي نَشوَةٌ وَخُمارُ

    Has a touch of the jinn deranged me, or have there coursed

    Through the parts of my soul intoxication and a hangover?

  7. أَرانِيَ في لَيلٍ مِنَ الشَكِّ مُظلِمٍ

    فَيالَيتَ شِعري هَل يَليهِ نَهارُ

    I see myself in a dark night of doubt;

    So, would that I knew: will daylight follow it?

  8. سَأَقتُلُ ضَيفي وَاِبنَ عَمّي وَمالِكي

    وَلَو أَنَّ عُقبى القاتِلينَ خَسارُ

    I shall kill my guest—my cousin and my lord—

    Even if the murderers' end is ruin.

  9. وَأُرضي هَوى نَفسي وَإِن صَحَّ قَولُهُم

    هَوى النَفسِ ذُلٌّ وَالخِيانَةُ عارُ

    And satisfy my soul's desire, even if their saying is true:

    The soul's desire is abasement, and treachery is disgrace.

  10. فَيا أَيُّها النَصلُ الَّذي لاحَ في الدُجى

    وَفي طَيِّ نَفسي لِلشُرورِ مَثارُ

    So, O blade that gleamed in the darkness,

    While in my soul's recesses lies a wellspring of evil,

  11. تُرى خَدَعَتني العَينُ أَم كُنتُ مُبصِراً

    وَهَذا دَمٌ أَم في شَباتِكَ نارُ

    I wonder: did my eye deceive me, or did I truly see?

    And is this blood, or is there fire at your point?

  12. وَهَل أَنتَ تِمثالٌ لِكَيدٍ نَوَيتُهُ

    وَذاكَ الدَمُ الجاري عَلَيكَ شِعارُ

    And are you an embodiment of a plot I intended,

    And is that blood flowing over you an emblem?

  13. فَإِن لَم تَكُن وَهماً فَكُن خَيرَ مُسعِدٍ

    فَإِنّي وَحيدٌ وَالخُطوبُ كُثارُ

    So if you are not an illusion, be the best helper,

    For I am alone, and calamities are many.

  14. وَكُن لي دَليلاً في الظَلامِ وَهادِياً

    فَلَيلي بَهيمٌ وَالطَريقُ عِثارُ

    And be my guide in the darkness, and lead me,

    For my night is pitch-dark, and the road fraught with stumbling.

  15. عَلى الفَتكِ يا دُنكانُ صَحَّت عَزيمَتي

    وَإِن لَم يَكُن بَيني وَبَينَكَ ثارُ

    My resolve to murder is firm, O Duncan,

    And though no blood-feud lies between me and you.

  16. فَإِن يَكُ حُبُّ التاجِ أَعمى بَصيرَتي

    فَما لي عَلى هَذا القَضاءِ خِيارُ

    For if love of the crown has blinded my insight,

    Then I have no choice against this decree of fate.

  17. أَعِرني فُؤاداً مِنكَ يا دَهرُ قاسِياً

    لَو أَنَّ القُلوبَ القاسِياتِ تُعارُ

    Lend me a hard heart of yours, O Time—

    If only hard hearts could be lent!

  18. وَيا حِلمُ قاطِعني وَيا رُشدُ لا تَثُب

    وَيا شَرُّ ما لي مِن يَدَيكَ فِرارُ

    And O forbearance, forsake me; and O good sense, do not return;

    And O evil, I have no escape from your hands.

  19. وَيا لَيلُ أَنزِلني بِجَوفِكَ مَنزِلاً

    يَضِلُّ بِهِ سِربُ القَطا وَيَحارُ

    And O night, give me a dwelling in your depths

    Where a flock of sandgrouse loses its way and is bewildered.

  20. وَإِن كُنتَ لَيلَ المانَوِيَّةِ فَليَكُن

    عَلى سِرِّ أَهلِ الشَرِّ مِنكَ سِتارُ

    And if you are the Manichaeans' night, then let there be

    A veil from you over the secret of the evildoers.

  21. وَيا قَدَمي سيري حِذاراً وَخافِتي

    مِنَ المَشيِ لَو يُنجي الأَثيمَ حِذارُ

    And O my foot, move warily, and soften

    Your tread—if caution could save the sinner.

  22. وَقَفتُ بِجَوفِ اللَيلِ وَقفَةَ ساحِرٍ

    لَهُ الجِنُّ أَهلٌ وَالمَكايِدُ دارُ

    I stood in the depths of night with a sorcerer's stance,

    The jinn are his family, and plots his home.

  23. إِذا اِشتَمَلَ اللَيلُ البَهيمُ عَلى الوَرى

    تَجَرَّدَ لِلإيذاءِ حَيثُ يُثارُ

    When the pitch-dark night enfolds humankind,

    He devotes himself to harm wherever he is roused.

  24. فَمالي كَأَنّي فاتِكٌ ذو عَشيرَةٍ

    خِيارُهُمُ تَحتَ الظَلامِ شِرارُ

    So what ails me, as though I were a killer with a clan

    Whose best are villains beneath the darkness?

  25. إِذا ما عَوى ذِئبُ الفَلا هَبَّ جَمعُهُم

    إِلى الشَرِّ وَاِستُلَّت ظُباً وَشِفارُ

    When the wolf of the wastes howls, their band springs up

    To evil, and sword-blades and knife-blades are unsheathed.