أيقدر أن ينسى الغرام ويسلوا — Ibn Hobeish

أَيقدِرُ أَن يَنسى الغَرامَ وَيَسلُوا

مُحِبٌّ عَصى العُذالَ في طاعَةِ الهَوى

Can he forget passion and cease to pine—

A lover who defied his reproachers in obedience to love?

فَأَجفانُهُ في قَبضَةِ السُهدِ وَالبُكا

وَمِقوَدُه في راحَةِ الوَجدِ وَالجَوى

So his eyelids are in the grip of sleeplessness and weeping,

And his rein lies in the palm of passion and heartache.

فُؤادٌ بِحَرِّ الشَوقِ يَشكُو مِن الظَما

فَفِي طَرفِهِ داءٌ وَفي ثَغرِهِ دَوا

A heart, in longing's heat, complains of thirst;

For his gaze holds sickness, and his lips a cure.

بَدَت لَكَ أَسراري وَأَخفانِيَ الضَنى

فَسِرّيَ مَنشُورٌ وَجِسمي قَد اِنطَوى

My secrets have appeared to you, while wasting sickness has hidden me;

So my secret is unfolded, while my body has folded in upon itself.

عَجِبتُ لِسِرّي ضاقَ عَن كَتمِ سِرِّهِ

فَكَيفَ حَوى مِن فَرطِ حُبِّكَ ما حَوى

I marveled at my secret, too narrow to conceal its own secret:

How, then, did it hold all it held of overwhelming love for you?

إِلى اللَهِ أَشكُو ما أُجِنُّ مِن الأَسى

إِذا لَم تُبِح لِي أَن أَبُوحَ وَأَشكُوا

To God I complain of the sorrow I conceal,

If you do not allow me to speak openly and complain.

أَيا مُوسِراً يَلوي بِدينٍ لِمُعسِرٍ

أَلم تَدرِ ما قَد جاءَ في مُوسِرٍ لَوى

O wealthy one who delays paying a debt to a man in hardship,

Do you not know what has been said of a wealthy man who delays payment?

وَيا مُضرِماً نارَ الجَوى في جَوانِحِي

أَتُحرِقُ رَبعاً كَم أَطَلتَ بِهِ الثَوى

And O kindler of the fire of heartache within my ribs,

Will you burn an abode where you have dwelt so long?

أَلَحَّ عَذُولي بِالمَلامِ وَلَو رَأى

حَبِيبيَ لاستَحيى مِن العَذلِ وَارعَوى

My reproacher persisted in blame; yet had he seen

My beloved, he would have been ashamed of his reproach and desisted.

مُحَيّاً كَما أَبصَرتُ مِن قَمَرِ الدُجى

وَجيدٌ كَما حُدِّثتُ عَن ظَبيَةِ اللِوى

A face like the moon I have seen in the dark of night,

And a neck like that of al-Liwa's gazelle, as I have been told,

وَطَرفٌ ضَعِيفٌ مثلَ حُجّهِ لائِمي

عَلى حُبِّهِ أَو مثل صَبرِيَ لِلنَوى

And a gaze as weak as my reproacher's argument

Against my love for him, or as my patience in separation.

يُسَدِّدُ مِن جَفنَيهِ نَحوِيَ أَسهُماً

مَواقِعُها مِنّي المقاتِلُ لا الشَوى

He aims arrows from his two eyelids toward me;

They strike my vital spots, not my extremities.

يُميتُ بِلَحظٍ ثُمَّ يُحيي بِرَشفَةٍ

فَفِي طَرفِهِ داءٌ وَفي ثَغرِهِ دَوا

He kills with a glance, then revives with a sip;

For his gaze holds sickness, and his lips a cure.

إِذا عُدَّ فُرسانُ الهَوى مِثلُ عُروَةٍ

وَقُيسٍ فَإِنّي فِيهُم حامِلُ اللِوا

When the knights of love are counted, such as Urwa

And Qays, I am the standard-bearer among them.

وَلَم أَنسَ فِكري ساعَةَ البينِ مَوقفِي

وَمُنآدُ أَضلاعي زَفيرٌ قدِ اِستَوى

Nor have I forgotten, in my thoughts, my stance at the hour of parting,

And a sigh had risen straight amid my bowed ribs;

وَعَينِيَ تَدمى ثُمَّ تَدمَعُ تارَةً

فَتَنثُر ياقُوتاً هُناكَ وَلُؤلُوا

And my eye bleeds, then at times sheds tears,

So it scatters rubies there, and pearls.

تَوَلَّوا بِقَلبِي كَيفَ بِالعَيش بَعدَهُم

وَخَلَّوا فُؤادي مِثلَ رَبعِهِمُ قَوى

They departed with my heart—how can I live after them?

And left my heart desolate, like their dwelling.

فَإِن كانَ مَحبُوبِي أَرادَ مَنِيّتِي

فَقَد نالَ مِنّي بِالنَوى فَوقَ ما نَوى

So if my beloved intended my death,

Then through separation he has exacted from me more than he intended.

مَواثيقُهُ مَرعِيّة جارَ أَو رَعى

وَمَثواهُ في طَيِّ الحَشى سارَ أَو ثَوى

His pledges remain honored, whether he wrongs me or keeps faith;

And his abode is in the folds of my heart, whether he departs or stays.