بخديه حياتي وآس عذاره

وبات يعاطيني كؤوس عذاره

My life lies in his cheeks and in the myrtle of his cheek-down;

And he spent the night offering me cups of his cheek-down.

هلال جلا شمسا اشعة صبحها

تحل عرى جيب الدجا عن نهاره

A crescent moon unveiled a sun whose morning rays

Undo the ties of night's collar, revealing his daylight.

وفي كعبة اللذات طاف بكأسه

فلبّاه قلبي بعد رمي جماره

And in the Kaaba of pleasures he circled with his cup;

So my heart answered his call after casting its pebbles.

من الغيد الا ان اسد عرينها

تخاف وتخشى في الهوى من نفاره

He is among the graceful beauties, yet the lions of their lair

Fear and dread his shying away in love.

بسمر القنا والبيض اضحى محجبا

ارى الموت والاهوال دون مزاره

He has become veiled by dusky lances and white swords;

I see death and terrors before his shrine.

تعلمت نظم الدر من نظم ثغره

والفت شعري من بديع ابتكاره

I learned to string pearls from the arrangement of his teeth,

And composed my verse from the marvel of his creation.

ويعجبني من شعره مستطيله

ومن خصره في الحسن معنى اختصاره

And in his hair, its length delights me,

And in his waist, the beauty of its brevity.

تماثل جسمي في السقام وخصره

وشاكل قلبي جفنه بانكساره

My body and his waist were alike in wasting,

And my heart resembled his eyelid in its brokenness.

يمينا به لا ملت عنه لسلوة

ولا في الغرام اخترت غير اختياره

I swear by him: I have never turned from him for solace,

Nor, in passion, chosen anything but his choice.