1. عشقت للحين قينةً عطفت

    قلبي بالحسن كل منعطفِ

    I fell in love, to my ruin, with a singing slave-girl who bent

    my heart with her beauty every which way.

  2. ورمت نيكاً لها فكيف به

    لولا سفاهي والبدع من حرفي

    And I sought to fuck her—how could I,

    but for my folly and the marvels of my art?

  3. قلت أرفقي بالشريف فابتسمت

    عن لؤلؤٍ ما اعتزى إلى صدف

    I said, “Be gentle with the nobleman,” and she smiled,

    baring pearls that claimed no descent from shells.

  4. عجباً وأبدت كالقعب عض له

    أيري علي بيضه من الأسف

    In wonder, she exposed something like a wooden bowl, at which

    my cock bit its balls in grief.

  5. وصفقت فوقه تحسرني

    وهو كثيف المجس كالهدف

    And she clapped above it, making me lament,

    and it was thick to the touch, like a raised target.

  6. حتى إذا ما رنا له ذكري

    وطال حتى علا على كتفي

    Until, when my penis gazed at it,

    and lengthened until it rose above my shoulder,

  7. قلت بحقي عليك تطمع أن

    تولج في ذا بالشعر والشرف

    I said, “By my right over you, do you hope

    to thrust into this with poetry and noble rank?”

  8. تالله لا نكتني بقافيةٍ

    ولا بفخرٍ فانسل أو فففِ

    “By God, you shall not fuck me with a rhyme,

    nor with boasting—so slip away, or [unclear].”

  9. أسبلت ثوبها عليه فلم

    أملك سلواً ولج بي كلفي

    She let her robe fall over it, and I could not

    find relief from longing; my infatuation would not relent.

  10. فعجت عنها والأير ينشدني

    بيتاً ويبكي بأدمع ذرف

    So I turned away from her, while my cock recited to me

    a verse, weeping streaming tears:

  11. قال لي الشوق قف لتلثمه

    فمن حذار الرقيب لم أقف

    “Longing said to me, ‘Stop to kiss it!’

    But, for fear of the watcher, I did not stop.”