Sol 6.1

  1. أمن الظبا ذاكَ الغريرُ المعجبُ

    يلهو بحباتِ القلوبِ ويلعبُ

    Is that guileless, captivating youth one of the gazelles?

    He toys with the very cores of hearts and plays.

  2. قد كنتُ أحسبني رأيتُ نظيرهُ

    حتى بدا فرايتُ ما لا أحسبُ

    I had indeed thought I had seen his equal,

    until he appeared, and I saw what I could not imagine.

  3. قمر كأنَّ الشمسَ فوقَ جبينهِ

    أضحتْ لو أنَّ الشمسَ ليستْ تغربُ

    A moon—as though the sun above his brow

    had come to shine, were the sun never to set.

  4. وكأنَّ طرتهُ طليعةُ ليلةٍ

    حلكتْ فأشرقَ في دجاها كوكبُ

    And his forelock seems the vanguard of a night

    that grew pitch-dark, then a star shone in its gloom.

  5. جمعَ المحاسنَ فهيَ تنسَ إن يغبْ

    وإذا بدا فلهُ المحاسنُ تنسبُ

    He gathered all beauties; they are forgotten if he is absent,

    and when he appears, all beauties are ascribed to him.

  6. وعلقتهُ كالظبيِ أحورَ يُرتجى

    وعشقتهُ كالليثَ أزورَ يرهبُ

    And I grew attached to him, gazelle-like, dark-eyed and desired;

    and loved him passionately, lion-like, broad-chested and feared.

  7. يرنو فتنتزعُ القلوبَ لحاظُهُ

    وتكادُ أنفسنا عليهِ تذهبُ

    He gazes, and his glances snatch hearts away,

    and our souls almost perish for love of him.

  8. وإذا مشى الخيلاءَ في عشاقِهِ

    خلتَ المليكَ مشى وقامَ الموكبُ

    And when he walks in swaggering pride among his lovers,

    you would think the king had stepped forth and the retinue risen.

  9. وبثغرهِ ظلمٌ يحرمُ رشفهُ

    ظلماً وعهدي أن يحل الطيبُ

    And in his mouth is glistening moisture, forbidden to sip,

    unjustly—though I have known good things to be lawful.

  10. ولقد تحكمَّ في النفوسِ فبعضها

    أودى العذابُ وبعضها يتعذبُ

    And indeed he has held sway over souls: some of them

    torment has destroyed, while others suffer on.

  11. وعجبتُ أن الحبَّ يقتلُ أهلهُ

    ولأن أكونَ بهِ قتيلاً أعجبُ

    And I marveled that love kills its devotees,

    and that I should be slain by it is more astonishing.