أَرى واحداً في الحسنِ ثانِيَ عِطْفه

أَرى واحداً في الحسنِ ثانِيَ عِطْفه

يتيه بطرفٍ أَو بتصحيفِ طَرْفِه

يتيه بطرفٍ أَو بتصحيفِ طَرْفِه

I see one peerless in beauty, turning his side away;

I see one whose charm is unmatched

He struts with his glance—or its dot-altered form, 'charm.'

Bewitching with a glance or blink of his eye

فربَّ جَريحٍ بالجوى لم يُداوه

فربَّ جَريحٍ بالجوى لم يُداوه

وربَّ غريم في الهوى لم يُوفِّه

وربَّ غريم في الهوى لم يُوفِّه

For many a man wounded by love's anguish he has left unhealed;

Many a wounded heart unhealed by yearning

And many a creditor in love he has not repaid in full.

Many a foe in love left unappeased

وما زال جِسْمي ساكناً مثلَ جَفْنِه

وما زال جِسْمي ساكناً مثلَ جَفْنِه

كما صَار قَلْبي خَافِقاً مثلَ شَنْفه

كما صَار قَلْبي خَافِقاً مثلَ شَنْفه

And my body has remained still, like his eyelid,

My body still as if in slumber

Just as my heart has come to flutter, like his earring.

My heart aflutter like his eyelid

ومِنْ نَحْو شِعْري جاءَه بابُ نَعْته

ومِنْ نَحْو شِعْري جاءَه بابُ نَعْته

لعلِّيَ أَقْرا بَعْده بَابَ عَطْفه

لعلِّيَ أَقْرا بَعْده بَابَ عَطْفه

And from my verse's grammar came to him the chapter on his description;

Toward my hair came praise for its beauty

Perhaps afterward I may read the chapter on his affection.

Perhaps after he'll send words of affection

وكم لِفَمي من حُجَّةٍ عند حَجْله

وكم لِفَمي من حُجَّةٍ عند حَجْله

بتقبيله أَو وقفةٍ عند وقْفِه

بتقبيله أَو وقفةٍ عند وقْفِه

And how many a plea my mouth makes beside his anklet,

Many the pleas my lips make when they meet

By kissing it, or pausing beside his bracelet.

With kisses or when paused at his halt

وقبَّلته في خدِّه أَلفَ قُبْلَةٍ

وقبَّلته في خدِّه أَلفَ قُبْلَةٍ

ومَنْ لِفَمي من قُبْلَةِ بَعْد أَلْفه

ومَنْ لِفَمي من قُبْلَةِ بَعْد أَلْفه

And I gave him a thousand kisses on his cheek;

I kissed his cheek thousands of times

And who will grant my mouth one more kiss after its thousand?

But after thousands what's one more kiss?

ولم أُفن بالتقبيل وردةَ خدِّه

ولم أُفن بالتقبيل وردةَ خدِّه

ولكن بها أَفْنَيْتُ حِنَّاءَ كَفِّه

ولكن بها أَفْنَيْتُ حِنَّاءَ كَفِّه

And I did not wear away his cheek's rose by kissing,

The kisses faded not his rosy cheek

But with it I wore away the henna on his palm.

But through them my palm's henna paled away

ودينارُ خدٍّ قد كنزت لأَنَّني

ودينارُ خدٍّ قد كنزت لأَنَّني

عليه بخيلٌ لستُ أَسْخُو بصرفه

عليه بخيلٌ لستُ أَسْخُو بصرفه

And I have hoarded a cheek's dinar, because I

The gold coin of his cheek I hoarded

Am miserly with it, not lavish in spending it.

For I'm miserly, freely I do not spend it

وسلطانُ حسنٍ بل إِمامُ مَلاحةٍ

وسلطانُ حسنٍ بل إِمامُ مَلاحةٍ

إِذا أَمَّ صلَّى الحسنُ مِن خَلْفِ صفِّه

إِذا أَمَّ صلَّى الحسنُ مِن خَلْفِ صفِّه

And a sultan of beauty—rather, an imam of loveliness—

The sultan of beauty, the imam of charm

When he leads the prayer, beauty prays behind his row.

When beauty prays, its loveliness leads the ranks

يكادُ وإِنِّي قد أَكادُ إِذا بدا

يكادُ وإِنِّي قد أَكادُ إِذا بدا

أَذوبُ لحُزْنيَ أَو يذوبُ لِطَرْفِه

أَذوبُ لحُزْنيَ أَو يذوبُ لِطَرْفِه

He comes close—and I too come close, when he appears—

I all but melt from sadness or from his glance

To melting: I from my sorrow, or he from his glance.

Yet his eyelid denies such weakness coyly

ويَجْحَدُ ضعَف الجفنِ منه تدللاً

ويَجْحَدُ ضعَف الجفنِ منه تدللاً

وكَسرةُ ذاك الجفن عُنوانُ ضَعْفِه

وكَسرةُ ذاك الجفن عُنوانُ ضَعْفِه

And he coyly denies his eyelid's weakness,

That broken lid reveals his frailty

Yet that eyelid's droop is the sign of its weakness.

I sipped a cup that almost from my waist

رَشفْتُ رُضَاباً كدت من خَصَري به

رَشفْتُ رُضَاباً كدت من خَصَري به

أُفارق نَفْساً طالبتْني برشْفه

أُفارق نَفْساً طالبتْني برشْفه

I sipped saliva; so chilled by it, I nearly

Parted my soul called to its draft

Parted with the soul that had demanded I sip it.