نفرت غزالاً خشية أن تبصرا

نفرت غزالاً خشية أن تبصرا

ورنت نبالاً ثم فاحت عنبرا

ورنت نبالاً ثم فاحت عنبرا

A gazelle bolted, fearing you might catch sight of her;

She fled like a gazelle, afraid of being seen.

your arrows sang out, then breathed ambergris.

And she cast glances like arrows, then gave off the scent of ambergris.

صهيبة الرشفات شيب زلالها

صهيبة الرشفات شيب زلالها

بمزاج كافور يخافِرُ اذفرا

بمزاج كافور يخافِرُ اذفرا

Tawny-kissed, her limpid nectar was mingled

Tawny are her sips; her clear nectar was blended

with a blend of camphor accompanying heady musk.

with a blend of camphor attending a potent fragrance.

رَمِضَت جحيم صبابتي من صبوتي

رَمِضَت جحيم صبابتي من صبوتي

كبدي فأنّي لي أطيقُ تصبّرا

كبدي فأنّي لي أطيقُ تصبّرا

The inferno of my longing, born of my passion, has seared

The hellfire of my longing, born of my passion, scorched

my very liver—how, then, could I patiently endure?

my liver—how, then, can I bear to be patient?

أبدتْ لنا من تحت مغفرِها دجى

أبدتْ لنا من تحت مغفرِها دجى

ولثامِها أبدت صباحاً مُسْفِرا

ولثامِها أبدت صباحاً مُسْفِرا

From beneath her helmet she revealed night to us,

From beneath her mail hood, she revealed to us the darkness of night;

and beneath her face-veil revealed a radiant dawn.

and from beneath her veil, she revealed a radiant dawn.