أتعبَ إدراكَ وصفِكَ الوَهما

أتعبَ إدراكَ وصفِكَ الوَهما

إذ كنتَ نوراً مُمازجاً جسما

إذ كنتَ نوراً مُمازجاً جسما

Grasping your description wearied the imagination,

My mind grew weary trying to describe you

for you were light mingling with a body.

When you were a light mingled with a body

تعاظَمتكَ العيونُ فأنصَرفَت

تعاظَمتكَ العيونُ فأنصَرفَت

وكان إدراكُ لحظِها خيما

وكان إدراكُ لحظِها خيما

The eyes found you overwhelming and turned away,

Eyes beheld you and quickly turned away

and the reach of their gaze was feeble.

For the moment they gazed was overwhelming

فأنفذُت في القلوبِ ما حكَمَ ال

فأنفذُت في القلوبِ ما حكَمَ ال

حسنُ ولم يعدني الهوى الحُكما

حسنُ ولم يعدني الهوى الحُكما

So you enforced within hearts what was decreed by

You impressed upon hearts what your beauty decreed

beauty, and passion did not spare me the judgment.

Yet passion did not make me logical

لولا فُؤادِي وضعفُ قُوَّتهِ

لولا فُؤادِي وضعفُ قُوَّتهِ

لقلتُ ما كانَ أنت ما أثما

لقلتُ ما كانَ أنت ما أثما

Were it not for my heart and the weakness of its strength,

If not for my heart and its frail strength

I would have said: “Whatever you were, you did not sin.” [Tentative: the Arabic wording is unclear.]

I would say what you were and no blame therein