1. جَاءتْ على زَهْرِ الصِّبا تختالُ

    سَحَرَ الخمائلَ عُودُها الميّالُ

    She came, strutting upon the blossoms of youth.

    Her swaying figure enchanted the groves.

  2. حتى اذا مالتْ وبانَ خِضَابُها

    بأناملٍ غَنّى بِهِنّ جمالُ

    Until she swayed and her henna showed

    On fingertips through which beauty sang.

  3. فاحتْ زُهورُ الروض ِمن نَفَحاتِها

    عِطراً تبدَّى من شذاهُ خَيالُ

    From her fragrant breezes the garden's flowers exhaled

    A perfume from whose scent a vision appeared.

  4. تمشى كأنَّ الكونَ ذلك ملكُهَا

    ولنا لها التسليمُ والإجْلالُ

    She walks as though that universe were her domain,

    And ours is to yield to her and revere her.

  5. فتثاقَلَتْ لما رأتني مُمعِناً

    فيها بطرفٍ يعتريهِ سُؤالُ

    Then she grew languid when she saw me intent

    On her, with a gaze beset by a question.

  6. وتَبسّمَتْ, حتى أقولُ تبسّمَتْ

    وتمايلتْ, فترنّمَ الخِلخالُ

    And she smiled, so that I would say, 'She smiled.'

    And she swayed, and so the anklet sang.

  7. فكأنما الخلخالَ أحدثَ ضَجّةً

    في خَافِقي وكأنّها الزّلْزالُ

    And it was as though the anklet raised an uproar

    In my beating heart—as though it were an earthquake.

  8. لمّا رأتْ منى اختلاجَ مشاعرٍ

    قالتْ بِهَمْسٍ: فُكّتِ الأغْلالُ

    When she saw my feelings flutter,

    She whispered, 'The shackles are undone.'

  9. إن النفوسَ إذا تَرَنَّمَ عودُها

    رقصتْ على أوتارهِ الآمالُ

    Indeed, when the lute of souls sings,

    Hopes dance upon its strings.

  10. فأجبتُ من قلبٍ يُلوِّعُهُ الهوى

    أكذا بهمس ٍتُزْهقُ الآجالُ

    So I answered from a heart that passion torments:

    Is it thus, with a whisper, that lives are snuffed out?

  11. لو كانَ تاجُ الحبِّ يؤخَذُ قُوّةً

    لَحَظي بهِ دونَ النّساءِ رجالُ

    If the crown of love were taken by force,

    Men, rather than women, would have won it.

  12. لكنني أجدُ الغرامَ مشقّةً

    عن خوضِهِ تتقاعسُ الأبطالُ

    But I find ardent love a hardship;

    Heroes shrink from venturing into it.

  13. يا من كساها الحُسنُ ثوبَ شمائل ٍ

    وكسا مُحيّاها الجميلَ كمالُ

    O you whom beauty has clothed in a robe of graces,

    And whose lovely face perfection has clothed,

  14. قولي لطرفِكِ ينثنِي عن عزمِهِ

    طرفٌ بدى منهُ الرّدى ينهالُ

    Tell your gaze to turn aside from its resolve—

    A gaze from which death was seen raining down.

  15. فبِأيمن ِالطرفين ِحَلَّ مُقاتلٌ

    وبأيْسَرِ الجفنين ِحَلَّ الخالُ

    For a warrior has settled in the right eye,

    And the beauty mark has settled on the left eyelid.

  16. أَمَّا أنا، فأسيرُ حَرْبِ إبادةٍ

    أسدٌ تُقيّدُ مِعصميهِ غَزالُ

    As for me, I am a captive of a war of annihilation—

    A lion whose wrists a gazelle shackles.

  17. ما كنتُ أومِنُ بالغرام ِوبالهوى

    عبثاً أراهُ تعيشهُ الجُهّالُ

    I did not believe in ardent love or passion;

    I saw it as folly lived out by the ignorant,

  18. حتى رأيتُ الحبَّ ذاكَ حقيقةً

    لمّا تجسّد ذلِكَ التِمثَالُ

    Until I saw that love was real,

    When that statue took on flesh.