بروحي من أبصرت صفحة خده

بروحي من أبصرت صفحة خده

وأبصرت وجه الشمس أغبر أسودا

وأبصرت وجه الشمس أغبر أسودا

With my soul I would ransom the one whose cheek I beheld,

With my soul, when I saw the apple of his cheek,

And saw the sun’s face dust-grey and black.

And I saw the face of the sun darker and blacker,

كأني أراها دونه مثلما يرى

كأني أراها دونه مثلما يرى

سواها إذا ما شامها الطرف أربدا

سواها إذا ما شامها الطرف أربدا

It is as though I see it, compared with him, just as one sees

It was as if I saw it without him just as one would see

All else, dusky, when the eye has gazed upon it.

Anything else when the gaze encounters it, colder