وذات خلق تُريبُ الخَلْقَ صُورَتُهُ

وذات خلق تُريبُ الخَلْقَ صُورَتُهُ

فكلّ ناظِرِ عَيْنٍ ليس يألفهُ

فكلّ ناظِرِ عَيْنٍ ليس يألفهُ

And a creature with a form whose appearance unsettles people;

A beauty whose nature bewilders all creation

So no gazing eye grows accustomed to it.

So no beholder’s eye finds her familiar

كأنّ شوكةَ عُنّابٍ بِمِبضَعِها

كأنّ شوكةَ عُنّابٍ بِمِبضَعِها

يُجَرَّعُ السمّ منه مَنْ يصادِفُهُ

يُجَرَّعُ السمّ منه مَنْ يصادِفُهُ

As though a jujube thorn were in its lancet;

As if a jujube thorn pricks with its spine

Whoever encounters it is made to swallow poison from it.

Whoever chances upon her sips poison from it