1. مَن ذا الرَقيبِ بِذا الحِما

    قَلبي اِكتَوى وَتَضَرَّما

    Who is this watcher in this sanctuary?

    My heart was seared and burst into flame.

  2. ما زالَ يَرصد خِطوَتي

    حَتّى ظَنَنتُ منجما

    He keeps watching my every step,

    until I thought him an astrologer.

  3. فَكَأَنَّما يا صحبتي

    عَن عَينهِ عميَ العَما

    So it is as though, O my companions,

    blindness itself had gone blind to his eye.

  4. وَيَظلُّ كَالبوابِ

    في ذاكَ المَقامِ مخيما

    And he remains like a doorkeeper,

    encamped in that place.

  5. مثل الخَيالِ مَلازِمي

    يَنسابُ حَولي كَيفَما

    Like a phantom, he is always beside me,

    gliding around me every which way.

  6. فَإِذا دَخَلتُ مُسلماً

    حَيّي وَبشَّ مُسلّما

    So when I enter offering a greeting,

    he greets me and beams in greeting,

  7. مثل الضَبابَة قابَلَت

    نوراً بَلَيلٍ أَظلَما

    like mist that met

    a light on a night grown dark.

  8. لَحظاتهُ عِندَ اللُقا

    كَالسَهم فُوّق وَاِرتَمى

    His glances when we meet

    are like an arrow, nocked and loosed.

  9. يا لِلمُصيبة أَنَّهُ

    في جَنَتي كَجهنما

    Oh, the calamity—that he

    is like Hell in my paradise!

  10. وَاليفَتي مِن سَخطِهِ

    جَفلى تَحاذرى أَرقَما

    And my beloved, because of his wrath,

    is frightened, wary of a mottled serpent,

  11. مثل الغَزالة في يَدِ

    الصَيادِ حَيثُ تَحَكَّما

    like a gazelle in the hand

    of the hunter, where he holds sway.

  12. تَخفي الغَرامَ وَطَرفَها

    لِلسرِّ دار مُتَرجَما

    She hides her love, yet her gaze

    has turned interpreter of the secret.

  13. مُذ الَزَمتُهُ يسارقُ

    اللَحظاتِ أَصبَحَ مُجرِما

    Since I compelled it to steal

    glances, it has become a culprit.

  14. مَنَعَ الرِضابَ فَكَيفَ لي

    اَن لا أَذوبَ مِن الظَما

    He has denied me her lips' moisture—so how can I

    not melt away from thirst?

  15. وَحَلا الخطاب فَلذَّ لي

    سكري بِهِ عوض اللَما

    And speech grew sweet, and I relished

    my drunkenness in it, instead of dusky lips.

  16. فَالعَينُ تَرتَعُ بِالبَها

    وَالقَلبُ يَخبط بِالدَما

    So the eye grazes amid splendor,

    and the heart thrashes in blood.

  17. قَلبٌ أُصيبَ بِحُبِها

    كَالطَير بالشركِ اِرتَمى

    A heart struck by love for her

    has fallen like a bird into a snare.

  18. خودٌ تَزيَّنَ حُسنَها

    بِاللُطف حَيث تَنمنما

    A fair maiden whose beauty was adorned

    with gentleness, as it was delicately embellished.

  19. مَلَكٌ كَريمٌ في الثَرى

    قَد ضاعَ عَن طرقِ السَما

    A noble angel on earth,

    who has strayed from the paths of heaven.

  20. نُسبَ الجَمال لذاتها

    فَاِعتَزَّ مفتخراً بِما

    Beauty was ascribed to her very being,

    and grew proud, glorying in that.

  21. أَمذيبةَ الأَكباد في

    حَرِّ الغَرام مُضرَّما

    O melter of livers in

    the blazing heat of passion,

  22. رِفقاً بِمغرمكِ الَّذي

    خَلع العِزارَ متيَّما

    be gentle with your lover, who

    cast off the bridle, enslaved by love.

  23. سَحَقتُهُ صاعِقة الهَوى

    فَأَتى إِلَيك لِيَسلَما

    Love's thunderbolt crushed him,

    so he came to you to find safety.

  24. في وَجهِكِ الباهي يَرى

    حُسن الرِضى متبسما

    In your radiant face he sees

    the beauty of approval, smiling.

  25. وَعَلى عَلى الفَرق المُنير

    يَرى الرَجا مُتَوسما

    And upon—upon the luminous hair-parting,

    he sees hope, reading its signs.

  26. رَدي لِحاظك عَن فَتى

    قَبل السِهام تَكَلَما

    Turn your glances away from a youth

    who spoke before the arrows:

  27. خَلِّ النِصالَ لِمَن طَغى

    وَهبي الوِصال مُسلِّما

    Leave the arrowheads for whoever transgresses,

    and grant union to one who surrenders.