لو أَنَّ يوماً قتيلَ الحِبِّ طالَبَهُ

لو أَنَّ يوماً قتيلَ الحِبِّ طالَبَهُ

بالثَّأْرِ منْهُ طَلَبْتُ اللَّحْظَ والصُّدُغَا

بالثَّأْرِ منْهُ طَلَبْتُ اللَّحْظَ والصُّدُغَا

If one day one slain by the beloved demanded of him

If one day the slain lover sought

blood vengeance, I would seek it from the glance and the temple-lock.

Revenge against me, I would ask for the glance and the cheek

هما استعانا على قَتْلي فصار لذا

هما استعانا على قَتْلي فصار لذا

قدُّ الفؤادِ وهذا صِلُّهُ لَدَغَا

قدُّ الفؤادِ وهذا صِلُّهُ لَدَغَا

They joined forces to kill me; to one fell

They helped kill me, so this

the rending of my heart, while the other's viper bit.

Became the bow of my heart and that its loose arrow

لم تبلغِ البيضُ والسمرُ النحافُ على

لم تبلغِ البيضُ والسمرُ النحافُ على

أيدي الفوارسِ منّي ما هما بَلَغا

أيدي الفوارسِ منّي ما هما بَلَغا

Neither white swords nor slender brown spears, in

The white and the tan could not reach,

the hands of horsemen, have wrought on me what those two wrought.

At the hands of the knights, what they reached with me

يا حاملَ اللحظ والأَصداغ أسلحةً

يا حاملَ اللحظ والأَصداغ أسلحةً

مات الكميُّ فلا تُحْدِثْ عليهِ وَغَى

مات الكميُّ فلا تُحْدِثْ عليهِ وَغَى

O you who wield the glance and temple-locks as weapons,

O bearer of the glance and cheeks as weapons

the armored warrior is dead; stir up no battle against him.

The loved one died, so do not create turmoil over him

ويا مُرِيقَ دمي ظلماً وجاحِدَهُ

ويا مُرِيقَ دمي ظلماً وجاحِدَهُ

هل لونُ خدِّك إلا من دمي صُبِغا

هل لونُ خدِّك إلا من دمي صُبِغا

And you who shed my blood unjustly and deny it,

And O spiller of my blood unjustly and denying it

was your cheek's color dyed with anything but my blood?

Is the color of your cheek anything but dyed by my blood?

قد يعلمُ اللّه أني غيرُ مُنْعَجِمٍ

قد يعلمُ اللّه أني غيرُ مُنْعَجِمٍ

فما لعوديَ مُذ فارقْتَني مُضِغا

فما لعوديَ مُذ فارقْتَني مُضِغا

God knows well that I do not yield to gnawing;

God knows I am not inarticulate

so why has my wood been chewed since you left me?

So why has my stick, since you left me, chewed?

ويعلمُ الليلُ أن الشوق هيَّجني

ويعلمُ الليلُ أن الشوق هيَّجني

حتى غرقتُ بماءِ الدمع حين طغى

حتى غرقتُ بماءِ الدمع حين طغى

And the night knows that longing stirred me,

And the night knows desire stirred me

until I drowned in the waters of tears as they overflowed.

Until I drowned in the water of tears when it overflowed

سعى إليك بيَ الواشي فأبعدني

سعى إليك بيَ الواشي فأبعدني

يا ليت شيطانَ ذاك السَّعْيَ ما نَزَعَا

يا ليت شيطانَ ذاك السَّعْيَ ما نَزَعَا

The slanderer carried tales of me to you and drove me away;

The slanderer came to you about me, so you distanced me

O, would that the devil of that intrigue had never stirred!

Oh, if only that demon had not undertaken that effort

وفاز منك بما قد كنت أَحْرُسُهُ

وفاز منك بما قد كنت أَحْرُسُهُ

من أين ذا الذئبُ في أمواهنا وَلَغا

من أين ذا الذئبُ في أمواهنا وَلَغا

And he won from you what I had been guarding;

And he won from you what I used to guard

where did this wolf come from, to lap at our waters?

Where did this wolf in our protected valley creep?

أَلقاك ذا لَثغٍ في القول من دَهَشٍ

أَلقاك ذا لَثغٍ في القول من دَهَشٍ

وما عرفتُ لساني يعرف اللَّثَغَا

وما عرفتُ لساني يعرف اللَّثَغَا

I meet you, lisping in my speech from bewilderment,

I found you with a tied tongue, confused

though I had never known my tongue to lisp.

And I did not know my tongue that knew no ties

أنتَ الذي لو رآه الغصْنُ ما انعطفتْ

أنتَ الذي لو رآه الغصْنُ ما انعطفتْ

أعطافُه وجبينُ الشمس ما بزغا

أعطافُه وجبينُ الشمس ما بزغا

You are such that, if a branch saw you, it would not sway

You, whom if the branch saw, its bends would not bend

its limbs, nor would the sun's brow rise.

Nor the forehead of the sun rise

لم يبدُ غيركَ شخصٌ في الورى حسنٌ

لم يبدُ غيركَ شخصٌ في الورى حسنٌ

كأن فيك جميع الحسن قد فُرِغَا

كأن فيك جميع الحسن قد فُرِغَا

No one but you has appeared beautiful among humankind,

None but you appeared with beauty in the world

as though all beauty had been poured into you.

As if all beauty in you was concentrated