علقت اهيف لدن القوام

علقت اهيف لدن القوام

لا يسمع العاشق فيه ملام

لا يسمع العاشق فيه ملام

I fell in love with a slender-waisted youth of supple frame.

The gazelles have halted beside the water

No lover hears reproach for loving him.

No lover hears blame in it

اسمر ذو خال على خده

اسمر ذو خال على خده

يغنى به عن حسن ذات الوشام

يغنى به عن حسن ذات الوشام

Dark-skinned, with a mole upon his cheek,

A dark-skinned one with a mole on his cheek

Through him, one needs no tattooed woman's beauty.

Sings of it in place of the beauty of the tattooed

كأنما قد صيغ من عنبر

كأنما قد صيغ من عنبر

وخالط العنبر مسك الختام

وخالط العنبر مسك الختام

As though he had been fashioned from ambergris,

As if he was molded from ambergris

And the musk of the seal mingled with the ambergris.

And the ambergris was mixed with sealing musk

من آل حام كلما سمته

من آل حام كلما سمته

وصلا علا في الحب قدرا وسام

وصلا علا في الحب قدرا وسام

Of Ham's lineage: whenever I asked him

From the family of Ham whenever he was named

For union, he rose in love's esteem and bargained.

Elevation and perfection in love was his trait and mark

قد هزّ لي من قده اسمرا

قد هزّ لي من قده اسمرا

وسل من لحظه لي حسام

وسل من لحظه لي حسام

From his figure he has brandished a brown spear at me,

He has shaken an ashen-dark one from his stature

And drawn from his glance a sharp sword against me.

And extracted from his glance for me a sword

لا سهم لي في الحب من وصله

لا سهم لي في الحب من وصله

لكن من اجفانه لي سهام

لكن من اجفانه لي سهام

In love, I have no share of union with him,

I have no arrows in love from his connection

But from his eyelids there are arrows for me.

But from his lashes I have arrows

في ثغره الحالي وفي كأسه

في ثغره الحالي وفي كأسه

ربق حلال ومدام حرام

ربق حلال ومدام حرام

In his sweet mouth, and in his cup,

In his rosy cheek and in his cup

Lawful bonds (perhaps intended: saliva), and forbidden wine.

There is lawful splendor and forbidden wine

تحبه من فرط خمر الصبا

تحبه من فرط خمر الصبا

نشوان هزته كؤوس المدام

نشوان هزته كؤوس المدام

You love him, from an excess of youth's wine,

You love him from an excess of the wine of youth

An intoxicated one whom cups of wine have swayed.

Intoxicated by cups of wine

يريك نثر الدر من لفظه

يريك نثر الدر من لفظه

وثغره يحسن فيه النظام

وثغره يحسن فيه النظام

He shows you pearls scattered from his speech,

He shows you the scattering of pearls from his utterance

And in his mouth their stringing is beautiful.

And his mouth is beautiful in composition

باللّه الا همت في حسنه

باللّه الا همت في حسنه

وقلت يا بشرايَ هذا الغلام

وقلت يا بشرايَ هذا الغلام

By God, did I not lose myself in his beauty,

By God, unless you admire his beauty

And say, 'O my joy! This is the youth!'?

And say, O my soul, this is the youth