1. جاء الربيع وورّد الرمان

    فكأنما شبت به النيران

    Spring has come, and the pomegranate has blossomed,

    as though flames had flared within it.

  2. ما اجمل الليمون يحكى غادة

    جلبابها بلآلئ مزدان

    How lovely the lemon tree, resembling a maiden

    whose robe is adorned with pearls.

  3. لولا علاقات هنالك جمة

    للحب لم تتعانق الاغصان

    Were there not so many bonds there

    of love, the branches would not embrace.

  4. ولقد تفرد كالعروس بقامة

    هيفاء بين المورقات البان

    And one stood apart like a bride, with a figure

    slender-waisted among the leafy trees—the ban tree.

  5. يا دوح لا تقفن دون السير في

    وجه النسيم فانه عجلان

    O spreading trees, do not bar the passage

    of the breeze, for it is in haste.

  6. خلب الربيع بحسنه البابنا

    ان الربيع لساحر فتان

    Spring has bewitched our minds with its beauty;

    spring is indeed a spellbinding magician.

  7. في شرخ نيسان الجميل تفتحت

    ازهاره يا حبذا نيسان

    In lovely April's prime there opened

    its flowers—oh, how delightful is April!

  8. وكأنما في كل ارض جنة

    تنبثّ فيها الحور والولدان

    And every patch of earth seems a paradise,

    with houris and youths scattered through it.

  9. او مرقص للهو في قاعاته

    تتخاصر الفتيات والفتيان

    Or a dance hall for merriment, in whose chambers

    young women and young men clasp one another's waists.

  10. حسن الربيع بزهره فكأنما

    خلعت عليه جمالها الازمان

    Spring grew lovely with its flowers, as though

    the ages had bestowed their beauty upon it.

  11. أهو الخزام الى جوار شقيقه

    ام لؤلؤ في جنبه مرجان

    Is that lavender beside its brother, the anemone,

    or pearls with coral at their side?

  12. الورد لا تقطفه من افنانه

    فاخاف ان تتألم الافنان

    Do not pluck the rose from its branches,

    for I fear the branches might feel pain.

  13. انظر اليه من قريب يبتسم

    لك وابتسامات الحسان حسان

    Look at it closely: it smiles

    at you, and the smiles of beauties are beautiful.

  14. قد اخرجت للناس زخرفها الثرى

    والسهل والآكام والوهدان

    The soil has brought forth its finery for humankind,

    and so have the plain, the hills, and the hollows.

  15. وكأنما في كل ارض عصبة

    للحسن فوق رؤوسها تيجان

    And on every patch of earth there seems a company

    of beauty, with crowns upon their heads.

  16. الشيح والقيصوم والجوريّ و

    الخيريّ والنسرين والحوذان

    Wormwood and yarrow and damask roses, and

    wallflowers and wild roses and buttercups,

  17. متجمعات في منابتها معاً

    فكأنهن عرائس اخدان

    gathered together where they grow,

    as though they were brides, intimate companions.

  18. تلقى العرائس ثم لا تدري لمن

    منها على اخواتها الرجحان

    You meet the brides, then cannot tell which one

    among them has the advantage over her sisters.

  19. في الروض ازهار الربيع بناته

    اما البنات فانهن حسان

    In the garden, spring's flowers are his daughters;

    as for these daughters, they are beautiful.

  20. حي الجمال فانه إما بدا

    فله على كل امرئ سلطان

    Salute beauty, for whenever it appears,

    it holds dominion over everyone.

  21. وكأنما زهر الربيع قصيدة

    منثورة والسوسن العنوان

    And spring's flowers seem a poem

    strewn about, with the iris for its title.

  22. والجلنار كأنه الياقوت قد

    حملته فوق زبرجد قضبان

    And the pomegranate blossom is like a ruby that

    boughs have borne above chrysolite.

  23. والاقحوانة ثغرها متبسم

    ابداً كما يتبسم الجذلان

    And the chrysanthemum's mouth is smiling

    forever, as a joyful person smiles.

  24. يلوى البنفسج جيده فكأنه

    بين الازاهر وحده وسنان

    The violet bends its neck, as though

    among the flowers it alone were drowsy.

  25. حمل الشقيق الى العرار بكفه

    قدحا ومال كأنه نشوان

    The anemone carried to the arar flower, in its palm,

    a goblet, and leaned as though drunk.

  26. والنرجس الفياح تنظر عينه

    شزراً اليه كأنه حردان

    And the fragrant narcissus casts its eye

    askance at it, as though angry.

  27. والياسمين من الصبا اذ اجهزت

    يرجو الامان وما هناك امان

    And jasmine, when the east wind attacks,

    seeks safety from it, but no safety is there.

  28. وارى الكنار معاتباً في حدة

    للياسمين كأنه غيران

    And I see the canary sharply reproaching

    the jasmine, as though jealous.

  29. صحح ذهابك يا كنار ولا تغر

    فالياسمين من الحسان حصان

    Correct your notion, O canary, and do not be jealous,

    for jasmine is chaste among the beauties.

  30. والورد من جذب النسيم تشققت

    منه الجبوب الخضر والاردان

    And the breeze's tug has torn open the rose's

    green robe-fronts and sleeves.

  31. في الليل قد ادجى اذا برق بدا

    شهق الهزار وزغرد الكروان

    In the night, grown dark, whenever lightning flashes,

    the nightingale gasps and the curlew trills.

  32. الليل ساج بالدجى متجلبب

    اما النهار فانه عريان

    Night is still, cloaked in darkness;

    as for day, it is naked.

  33. والليل ذو شكّ وان صباحه

    لعلي فساد شكوكه برهان

    And night has doubts, yet its morning

    is surely proof that its doubts are false.

  34. دنيا كما تهوى النفوس جميلة

    لو كان ذا ذوق بها الانسان

    A world as beautiful as souls desire,

    if only man had the taste to appreciate it.

  35. حبسته عن لذاته اوهامه

    فهو السجين النكد والسجان

    His delusions have barred him from his pleasures,

    so he is the wretched prisoner and the jailer.

  36. الطير فوق الدوح يخطب ثائراً

    فيرج منه المنبر الفينان

    The bird orates, impassioned, atop the spreading trees,

    so its leafy pulpit trembles.

  37. ما عندليب الروض الا شاعر

    في كل مورقة له ديوان

    The garden's nightingale is nothing but a poet;

    in every leafy tree it has a collection of poems.

  38. كل الازاهر حين يبدو اعين

    واذا شدا فجميعها آذان

    All the flowers are eyes when it appears,

    and when it sings, they are all ears.

  39. غرد يبدل نغمة من نغمة

    وكذلكم يتفنن الفنان

    A songster, it exchanges one melody for another;

    and thus the artist displays his artistry.

  40. هتفت فانصتت الطيور لصوتها

    ورقاء تخفى جسمها الافنان

    She called, and the birds hushed to hear her voice—

    a gray dove, her body hidden by the branches.

  41. في جنة غناء تحت نخيلها

    قد نور الليمون والرمان

    In a luxuriant garden, beneath its palms,

    the lemon and pomegranate trees have blossomed.

  42. البلبل الصيداح موسيقارها

    فاذا شدا خرت له الاذقان

    The loud-singing bulbul is its musician;

    and when it sings, chins bow before it.

  43. يشدو بالحان على مخضرة

    غرداً فتطرب تلكم الالحان

    It sings melodies upon a verdant tree,

    tunefully, and those melodies bring delight.

  44. وترنمت فوق الغدير جميلة

    عصفورة اوطانها الغدران

    And above the pool there warbled a lovely

    little bird, whose homes are pools.

  45. تبدو هنالك او هنا فكأنها

    طيف به لا يستقر مكان

    She appears there or here, as though she were

    a phantom no place can hold.