بحقِّكَ حدِّثْ عَنْ هوايَ ولا حرجْ

بحقِّكَ حدِّثْ عَنْ هوايَ ولا حرجْ

هوىً دخل القلْبَ المعنَّى وما خَرَجْ

هوىً دخل القلْبَ المعنَّى وما خَرَجْ

By your honor, speak of my love without restraint.

By your right, speak of my passion without reproach

A love that entered my tormented heart and never left.

A passion that entered my heart with meaning, and did not exit

هوىً حلَّ عقْدَ القلبِ أَو حلَّ بالحشا

هوىً حلَّ عقْدَ القلبِ أَو حلَّ بالحشا

ولَجَّ على بابِ السُّويْداءِ إِذ ولجْ

ولَجَّ على بابِ السُّويْداءِ إِذ ولجْ

A love that loosened the heart's knot—or settled in my breast—

A passion that untied the knot of my heart, or untied with yearning

and persisted at the door of the heart's dark core when it entered.

And knocked on the door of Al-Suwayda when it knocked

بنفْسِي مصقولُ السوالِف مرهَفُ ال

بنفْسِي مصقولُ السوالِف مرهَفُ ال

معَاطِف مِسْكِيُّ المراشِفِ والأرَجْ

معَاطِف مِسْكِيُّ المراشِفِ والأرَجْ

My life be his ransom: smooth-necked, slender in

With myself, polished are the tales, perceptive of

his body's contours, musky of lips and fragrance.

Raiment, musky of pillows and carpets

ثناياهُ لا تَفْليلَ فيها ولا شغىً

ثناياهُ لا تَفْليلَ فيها ولا شغىً

وقامتُه لا أَمْتَ فيها ولا عِوَجْ

وقامتُه لا أَمْتَ فيها ولا عِوَجْ

His front teeth have neither chips nor misalignment,

Its folds, no weakness in them, nor boredom

and his stature neither unevenness nor crookedness.

And its stature, no defect in it, nor crookedness

رماني ومِن أَجْفانه السَّهمُ صائِباً

رماني ومِن أَجْفانه السَّهمُ صائِباً

ومن حاجبَيْه القوسُ والقصْبة البلَج

ومن حاجبَيْه القوسُ والقصْبة البلَج

He shot me, the arrow from his eyelids striking true,

He shot me, and from his eyelashes the arrow hits its mark

the bow from his two brows, its shaft the bright space between them.

And from his eyebrows, the bow and polished arrow

وفي يدهِ المحْيَا وفي خدِّه الحَيَا

وفي يدهِ المحْيَا وفي خدِّه الحَيَا

وفي فمه السُّقْيا وفي وجْهه الفَرَجْ

وفي فمه السُّقْيا وفي وجْهه الفَرَجْ

In his hand is life, and on his cheek is rain;

In his hand is life, and in his cheek, life

in his mouth is refreshment, and in his face relief.

And in his mouth, drink, and in his face, joy

وفي الفَمِ منِّي قبلةٌ منه ذقتُها

وفي الفَمِ منِّي قبلةٌ منه ذقتُها

وها مِسْكُها باق بِه ولها حُجَجْ

وها مِسْكُها باق بِه ولها حُجَجْ

And in my mouth is a kiss I tasted from him;

And in the mouth from me a kiss I tasted from him

lo, its musk still lingers there, though the kiss is years old.

And here is its musk still with it and it has proofs

له سُبَحٌ من عنبرٍ فوق خدِّه

له سُبَحٌ من عنبرٍ فوق خدِّه

وتصحيفُها في عارضَيْ وجهه سُبَجْ

وتصحيفُها في عارضَيْ وجهه سُبَجْ

He has prayer beads of ambergris upon his cheek,

He has ambergris above his cheek

and, with a changed dot, they become jet beads on either side of his face.

And its displacement upon his cheekbones is ambergris

وقد حرَّر النَّظامُ جوهرَ ثَغْرِه

وقد حرَّر النَّظامُ جوهرَ ثَغْرِه

أَلستَ تَراه قد تَقَسَّم بالفَلَج

أَلستَ تَراه قد تَقَسَّم بالفَلَج

And al-Nazzam has analyzed the jewel of his mouth:

And al-Naẓām has authored the essence of his mouth

do you not see it divided by the gaps between his teeth?

Do you not see it has cracked from the dimples?

وأَخربَ بيتَ البدرِ من حسْنِ وجهِه

وأَخربَ بيتَ البدرِ من حسْنِ وجهِه

وكُلفَتُه كالعنكبوتِ به انْتَسَج

وكُلفَتُه كالعنكبوتِ به انْتَسَج

By the beauty of his face he has ruined the full moon's house,

And it destroyed the full moon's home from the beauty of his face

and its dark mottling is like a spider that has spun its web there.

And its curls are like a spiderweb in it interlaced

ومن كَرِه الهَيْجاءَ واختار عِشْقه

ومن كَرِه الهَيْجاءَ واختار عِشْقه

كمنْ حَذِرَ الأَنهارَ واقتحم اللُّججْ

كمنْ حَذِرَ الأَنهارَ واقتحم اللُّججْ

Whoever hates battle yet chooses to love him

And whoever disliked passion and chose his love

is like one who fears rivers yet plunges into the deep seas.

Is like one who avoided rivers and waded into marshes

وكم لائم لي ما رآه جهالةٌ

وكم لائم لي ما رآه جهالةٌ

فلما رآهُ ماتَ عِشْقاً وما اختلَجْ

فلما رآهُ ماتَ عِشْقاً وما اختلَجْ

How many a man blamed me in ignorance, not having seen him,

And how many blamers of me that ignorance saw

then, on seeing him, died of love without a twitch!

But when it saw him, it died of love and did not twitch

فأَمَّا اصْطِبارِي عن هواهُ فقدْ ثَوى

فأَمَّا اصْطِبارِي عن هواهُ فقدْ ثَوى

وأَمَّا غَرامِي في سِوَاه فقد دَرَجْ

وأَمَّا غَرامِي في سِوَاه فقد دَرَجْ

As for my restraint from loving him, it lies buried;

As for my patience from his love, it has perished

and as for my passion for anyone else, it has died.

And as for my passion for his like, it has flowed

فإِن قلتَ لي إِنَّ المشُوقَ به سَلا

فإِن قلتَ لي إِنَّ المشُوقَ به سَلا

لقد قلتَ لي إِنَّ السُّلَيْكَ بِهِ عَرَجْ

لقد قلتَ لي إِنَّ السُّلَيْكَ بِهِ عَرَجْ

If you tell me that one longing for him has ceased to pine,

If you say to me that longing for him is sound

you have told me that al-Sulayk has a limp.

You have said to me that madness for him is valid

وقد أُنْفِقَتْ فيه الذَّخائر جَمَّةً

وقد أُنْفِقَتْ فيه الذَّخائر جَمَّةً

فمِنْها العُقُولُ والمدامعُ والمُهَجْ

فمِنْها العُقُولُ والمدامعُ والمُهَجْ

Many treasures have been spent on him,

And for him treasures were spent entirely

among them minds, tears, and hearts' lifeblood.

Among them minds, tears, and passions

ولم يغتصِبْ تلك الذخائر ظالماً

ولم يغتصِبْ تلك الذخائر ظالماً

ولكن لذاك الحُسْنِ في أَخذها حُجَجْ

ولكن لذاك الحُسْنِ في أَخذها حُجَجْ

He did not seize those treasures wrongfully;

And he did not seize those treasures wrongfully

but that beauty has its justifications for taking them.

But for that beauty in taking them he has proofs

إِذا جاءَه يوماً من الناس خاطبٌ

إِذا جاءَه يوماً من الناس خاطبٌ

فما هو مِمَّنْ يستعدُّ له دَرَجْ

فما هو مِمَّنْ يستعدُّ له دَرَجْ

If one day a suitor from among the people comes to him,

If one day a suitor comes to him

he is not one for whom a scroll is made ready.

He is not one who prepares degrees for him