1. صبٌّ يذوبُ إلى لقاءِ مُذِيبِهِ

    يَسْتعذِبُ الآلامَ مِنْ تَعْذِيبهِ

    A lovesick lover melts, longing to meet the one who melts him.

    He finds the pains of his torment sweet.

  2. عمّى هواهُ عن الوشاةِ مُكتماً

    فجرَتْ مدامعُهُ بِشَرْحِ غريبهِ

    He concealed his passion from the tale-bearers, keeping it secret,

    yet his tears flowed, revealing its strange mystery.

  3. كم لائمٍ والسمعُ يدفعُ لَوْمَهُ

    والقلبُ يَدْفعُ قَلْيَهُ بوجيبهِ

    How many a reproacher—the ear repels his blame,

    and the heart repels his hatred with its beating.

  4. ملكَ القلوبَ هوى الحسان فقل لنا

    كيفَ انْتفاعُ جسومنا بقلوبهِ

    Love of beauties has possessed the hearts; tell us, then:

    How can our bodies benefit from the hearts it owns?

  5. وبم السلوّ إذا بدا ليَ مُثْمِراً

    خُوطٌ يميسُ على ارتجاجِ كثيبهِ

    And what can console me when there appears before me, fruit-laden,

    a slender shoot swaying upon his trembling sand-dune?

  6. والشوقُ يَزْخَرُ بحرُهُ بِقَبولِهِ

    ودبورِهِ وشمالِهِ وجنوبِهِ

    And longing's sea surges with its east wind,

    and its west wind, its north wind, and its south wind.

  7. وبنفسيَ القمرُ الذي أحيا الهوى

    وأماتَهُ بطلوعِهِ وغروبهِ

    And my life be ransom for the moon who gave love life

    and death through his rising and his setting.

  8. قرَنوا بوَرْدِ الخدّ عقربَ صُدْغه

    وذَرَوْا ترابَ المسك فوق تريبهِ

    They paired the cheek's rose with the scorpion of his temple-lock,

    and scattered musk-dust over his breast.

  9. والعين حَيْرَى من تألّقِ نُورِهِ

    والنفسُ سكرَى من تضَوّعِ طيبهِ

    And the eye is bewildered by the brilliance of his light,

    and the soul is drunk with his wafting fragrance.

  10. في طَرْفِهِ مَرَضٌ ملاحتَهُ التي

    ألْقَتْ عليّ أنينَهُ بكروبهِ

    In his gaze is a sickness, whose loveliness

    has cast its groaning and anguish upon me.

  11. أعيا الطبيبَ علاجُهُ يا سحرَهُ

    ألَدَيْكَ صَرْفٌ عن علاجِ طبيبهِ

    Treating it has baffled the physician. O his enchantment,

    have you a way to turn away from his physician's treatment?

  12. إني لأذكرُهُ إذا أنْسى الوغى

    قلبَ المحبِّ المحضِ ذكرَ حبيبهِ

    I surely remember him when battle robs

    the true lover's heart of the memory of his beloved.

  13. والسيفُ في ضرب السيوف بسلّةٍ

    في ضحكِهِ والموت في تقطيبهِ

    And the sword, amid the clash of swords, is drawn once

    in its laughter, while death is in its frown.

  14. وأقبَّ كاليعسوبِ تركبُ مَتْنَهُ

    فركوبُ مَتْنِ البحرِ دون ركوبهِ

    And a lean-flanked steed, like a dragonfly—you ride his back,

    for riding the sea's back falls short of riding him.

  15. مُتَقَمّصٌ لوناً كأنّ سَوادَهُ

    غُمِسَ الغرابُ الجَوْن في غِرْبيبهِ

    He wears a hue so black it is as though

    a black raven had been dipped in his jet-blackness.

  16. يرْميكَ أوّلَ وَهْلَةٍ بِنشاطِهِ

    كالماءِ فُضَّ الخَتْم عن أنبوبهِ

    At the very first moment, he flings you with his vigor,

    like water whose pipe's seal has been broken.

  17. بقديم سَبْقٍ يستقلّ ببعضه

    وكريم عرْقٍ في المدى يجري بهِ

    With longstanding swiftness, a fraction of which lifts him,

    and noble blood with which he runs the course,

  18. وبأرْبعٍ جاءتكَ في ترْكيبها

    بالطّبْعِ مُفْرَغَةً على تركيبهِ

    and with four legs that came to you in a form

    cast by nature to match his build.

  19. فكأنّ حِدّةَ طَرْفِهِ وفؤادِهِ

    من أُذْنِهِ نُقلتْ إلى عرقوبهِ

    So it is as though the keenness of his gaze and heart

    had been transferred from his ear to his hock.

  20. ألْقى على الأرض العريضة أرضَه

    ثم اشتكى ضِيقاً لها بوثوبهِ

    He planted his feet upon the broad earth,

    then complained to it, through his leaps, of its narrowness.

  21. وجرَى ففاتَ البرْق سبقاً وانتهى

    من قبلِ خطفته إلى مطلوبهِ

    And he ran, outstripped lightning in speed, and reached

    his goal before its sudden flash.

  22. فَلِشِبْهِ دُهمتِهِ بدُهمةِ ليله

    أمْسى يُفتّشهُ بفرْطِ لهيبهِ

    For his blackness resembles the blackness of his night,

    lightning spends the evening seeking him with its fierce blaze.

  23. ويرشّ سيفي بالنجيعِ مصارِعاً

    للأسْدِ يُسْكنها بذيل عسيبهِ

    And my sword sprinkles fresh blood upon the deathbeds

    of lions, which he stills with the sweep of his tail.

  24. ومهنّدٍ مثلِ الخليجِ تَصَفّقَتْ

    طُرُقُ النسيمِ عليه من تَشْطِيبهِ

    And an Indian blade, like a gulf upon which ripple

    the breeze's tracks, traced by its grooves.

  25. ربّتْهُ في النيرانِ كَفّا قَيْنِهِ

    فهو الزّنادُ لهنّ يوم حروبهِ

    The two hands of its smith reared it in the fires,

    so it is their fire-striker on the day of its battles.

  26. وكأنّما في مائِهِ وسعيرِهِ

    نَمْلٌ يسير بسبحه ودبيبهِ

    And it is as though within its watery sheen and its blaze

    ants move, swimming and creeping.

  27. وإذا أصابَ قذالَ ذِمْرٍ قَدّهُ

    ومشَتْ يدي معه إلى مَرْغوبهِ

    And when it strikes a valiant warrior's nape, it cleaves him,

    and my hand moves with it toward its desired goal.

  28. وكأنّما اقتسم الكميَّ مع الردى

    ليكونَ منه نصيبُه كنصيبهِ

    And it is as though it shared the armored warrior with Death,

    so that its share of him would equal Death's share.