قالُوا كَلِفْتَ بهِ غُلاماً حالِكاً

قالُوا كَلِفْتَ بهِ غُلاماً حالِكاً

فأجَبْتُمْ لي فيهِ ما يَشْفي المُهَجْ

فأجَبْتُمْ لي فيهِ ما يَشْفي المُهَجْ

They said, 'You have become enamored of him—a jet-black youth.'

They told me you were captivated by a youth in the bloom of life

So you replied, 'In him I have what heals hearts.'

So you gave me the cure that would heal my love-sickness

مَهْما جُنِنْتُ بهِ هَوًى وصَبابةً

مَهْما جُنِنْتُ بهِ هَوًى وصَبابةً

علّقْتُ فَوقي منْهُ حِرْزاً منْ سَبَجْ

علّقْتُ فَوقي منْهُ حِرْزاً منْ سَبَجْ

However mad I grew with love and longing for him,

However much I was driven mad by passion and folly for him

I hung above me an amulet of jet, made from him.

I have set above me a charm to ward off harm from that quarter