1. يا ليلةً مرَّت لنا حلوَهْ

    زيَّنها الشيخُ أَبُو مُرَّهْ

    O night that passed so sweetly for us!

    The sheikh Abu Murrah adorned it

  2. بالغُصن بالبدر بشمس الضُّحى

    بالرِّيم بالدُّري بالدُّره

    with the bough, the full moon, the midmorning sun,

    with the gazelle, the radiant star, the pearl,

  3. بالثَّملِ الطرف بمن ريقُه

    أَسْكَر حتى أَسكر الخَمَرهْ

    with the languid-eyed one, whose saliva

    was so intoxicating that it made wine itself drunk.

  4. زارَ على خوفٍ وفي سُترةٍ

    حتَّى رأَينا وجْهَهُ جَهْره

    He visited in fear and under cover,

    until we saw his face openly.

  5. وافى إِلى عِنْدِي على حاجةٍ

    وجاءَني في ساعةِ العُسْرَه

    He arrived at my place with a need,

    and came to me in an hour of hardship.

  6. فكم نَظَمْنَا فوقه قُبْلةً

    وكم نَثَرْنَا فَوْقَه بَدْرَه

    And how many kisses we strung upon him,

    and how many purses of money we scattered over him!

  7. فتحت باب الصَّدرِ حبّاً له

    وطرَّقتْ منِّي له النُّعْرْ

    I opened the door of my breast out of love for him,

    and my pride bowed to him [wording uncertain].

  8. ولم يزل وجهي على وجهه

    من أَوَّل اللَّيلِ إِلى بُكْره

    And my face remained upon his face

    from the beginning of the night until morning,

  9. في سُكْرةٍ تتبعها صَحْوة

    وصحوةٍ تتبعُها سَكْرَه

    in an intoxication followed by sobriety,

    and a sobriety followed by intoxication.

  10. أُصفِّفُ اللَّثم ولكنَّني

    أُبَلْبِلُ الصُّدْغَين والطُّرَّه

    I arrange the kisses in rows, yet I

    tousle his two temple-locks and his forelock.

  11. مرأَىً ومَرْعىً ليَ في وجْههِ

    أَما رأَيتَ الماءَ والخُضْرَه

    In his face I have a sight and a pasture:

    have you not seen the water and the greenery?

  12. لله ما أَكْسلَ أَجْفانَه

    وعند قتلِ النَّاسِ ما أَفْرَه

    God be praised—how languid his eyelids are,

    yet how deft he is at killing people!

  13. وبزَّني عقْلي أَلْتفِت

    واسْتَلَبَ القلْبَ فَلَم أَكْره

    He robbed me of my reason—I turn to look;

    and stole my heart, yet I did not resent it.

  14. فَمِن فُؤَادي لَمْ يَدَع حبَّةً

    ومن رقادي لم يَذَرْ ذَرّه

    So he left not one grain of my heart,

    and not one speck of my sleep.

  15. ولم ينم طَرفي في لَيْلَتي

    كأَنَّه يَسْهَرُ بالأُجْره

    And my eye did not sleep that night,

    as though it were paid to keep vigil.

  16. ولم أَقصِّرْ دونَ نَيْلِ المنى

    لأَنَّني مَا كُنْتُ في سُخْرَه

    And I did not stop short of attaining my wishes,

    for I was not doing forced labor.

  17. قد سكر القلبُ بِعشْقي لَهُ

    وانكَسَرَت في رَأْسِه الجرَّه

    My heart grew drunk with my love for him,

    and the jar shattered on its head.

  18. وصِرتُ صبّاً كَلِفاً مُدْنَفاً

    ما كلُّ صبٍّ مِنْ بَني عُذْرَه

    And I became a passionate lover, infatuated and wasting away.

    Not every lover is of the Banu Udhrah.

  19. يا معشرَ اللُّوَّامِ إِنِّ امرؤٌ

    لم يُجمَع إِلاَّ هذه المرَّ

    O company of reproachers, I am a man

    who has been joined only this once.

  20. تَهْوَونَ مِثْلي وتلومونَني

    والله ما أَحسَنْتمُ العِشْرَه

    You love as I do, yet you reproach me.

    By God, you have not been good companions!

  21. ماليَ بالسُّلوان من خِبْرةٍ

    وَلاَ عَلَى الهِجْرَانِ من قدْرَه

    I have no experience of forgetting love,

    nor any strength to endure estrangement.

  22. فأُمُّ مَن يعذلني قُحْبَةٌ

    وأُمُّ من يعذِرُني حُرَّه

    So the mother of whoever reproaches me is a whore,

    and the mother of whoever excuses me is a freeborn woman.

  23. يا ليلة طَابَت أَحَادِيثُها

    نأَيْتِ عنِّي فَمَتَى الكَرَّه

    O night whose conversations were sweet,

    you have gone far from me—when will you return?

  24. فقل لمن قد غَابَ عَنْ لَيْلتي

    تَعَسُّفاً أَحْسَنْتَ يَا غِرَّه

    So tell whoever stayed away from my night

    out of obstinacy: Well done, you simpleton!

  25. وإِن تخف مِنْ عَتْبِهِ قُلْ لَه

    لا أَوْحَشَ الله مِنَ الحَضْرَهَ

    And if you fear his reproach, say to him:

    May God never leave us bereft of your presence!