أقاسي الحب من قاسي الفؤاد

وأرعاه ولا يرعى ودادي

I suffer the pain of love from one who suffers my heart

I endure the agony of love from one of hardened heart,

And I care for him, yet he cares not for my love

I nurture our bond, while she nurtures not my love.

أريد حياتها وتريد قتلي

بهجرٍ أو بصدّ أو بعاد

I want her life, and she wants me dead

I desire life for her, while she desires my slaying,

With estrangement, indifference, or separation

Through abandonment, rejection, or estrangement.

وأبكيها فتضحك ملء فيها

وأسهر وهي في طيب الرقاد

And I weep for her, yet she laughs, filled with mirth

I weep for her sake, while she laughs with mouth agape,

While I stay up, she is in sweet slumber

I keep a sleepless vigil, while she lies in sweet slumber.

وتعمى مقلتي إما تناءت

وعيناها تعمّى عن مرادي

My eyes grow blind when she turns away

My vision goes blind whenever she departs,

While her eyes grow blind to my desires

Yet her eyes remain blind to my deepest desire.

وتهجرني بلا ذنبٍ تراه

فظامي قد رأت دون العباد

She shuns me though no sin of mine she sees

She forsakes me without seeing any fault I committed,

So I have sinned while the pious she perceives

Singling me out among all people to endure her cruelty.

وأشكوها البعاد وليس تصغي

إلى الشكوى وتمكث في ازدياد

And I complain of her estrangement, but she does not listen

I complain to her of our estrangement, yet she lends no ear

To my lament, and persists in growing distant

To my pleas, but persists in increasing her aloofness.

وأبذل مهجتي في لثم فيها

فتمنعني وأرجع منه صاد

I offer my soul to kiss her lips

I offer my very soul just to kiss her mouth,

But she refuses me and I return rejected

But she denies me, and I return parched and deprived.

وأغتفر العظيم لها وتحصي

علي الذنب في وقت العداد

I pardon her grave sins, while she counts

I forgive her great offenses, while she keeps count

My faults at the time of reckoning

Of every minor fault of mine on the day of reckoning.

وأخضع ذلةً فتزيد تيهاً

وفي هجري أراها في اشتداد

I humble myself, so she grows more lost

I submit in abject humility, and she increases in haughty pride,

And in my estrangement I see her become more stubborn

And in abandoning me, I see her severity intensify.

فما تنفك عني ذات عزّ

وما أنفك في ذلي أنادي

She does not cease to be one of pride

She never ceases to lord her power over me,

Nor do I cease in my humility to call her

And I never cease calling out from the depths of my abasement.

فما في الذل للمحبوب عارٌ

سبيل الحب ذلٌّ للمراد

There is no shame for the beloved in humility

For there is no shame in humbling oneself for the beloved;

The path of love is humiliation to attain the desire

The path of love is submission to the one desired.

رضا المحبوب ليس له عديلٌ

بغير الذل عليس بمستفاد

The pleasure of the beloved has no equal

The beloved's favor has no equal or substitute,

But through humility, nothing else will work

And without humility, it cannot be attained.

ألا من منصفي من ظبي قفرٍ

لقد أضحت مراتعه فؤادي

Oh you who judges me for a barren gazelle

O, who will grant me justice against a gazelle of the wasteland,

Indeed my heart has become its pasture

One whose grazing grounds have become my very heart?

ومن عجب تهاب الأسد بطشي

ويمنعني غزالٌ عن مرادي

And how strange, the lion fears my power

It is a marvel that lions fear my ferocity,

Yet a gazelle prevents my wants

Yet a mere gazelle denies me my desire.

وماذا غير أن له جمالاً

تملّك مهجتي ملك السواد

What but that he has a beauty

What is the cause, other than her possession of such beauty

That has seized my soul with the possession of blackness

That has taken possession of my soul with total dominion?

وسلطان الجمال له اعتزاز

على ذي الخيل والرجل الجواد

The sultan of beauty has a pride

For the sovereignty of beauty holds a mighty power

Above the owner of horses and the generous steed

Over the master of cavalry and the brave foot soldier.

وهذا الفعل مغتفر وزين

إذا يوماً أبيت على معاد

This action is forgivable and virtuous

Yet this behavior is forgiven and deemed fair,

If one day I refuse to keep my vow

Even if, one day, she refuses my return.

فإن رضيت علي أرت محيا

بشوشا بالملاحة ظلّ باد

For if you accept me, I will show you

For if she is pleased with me, she reveals a countenance

A cheerful face, with jest and without gloom

Radiating cheer and lasting beauty.

خليلي إن أتيتَ إليّ يوما

بشيراً بالوصال وبالوداد

My friend, if you come to me one day

O my friend, if you should come to me one day,

With good tidings of union and affection

Bearing good tidings of reunion and affection,

فنفسي بالبشارة إن ترمها

فخذها بالطريف وبالتلاد

Then if the news brings delight to my soul

Then my soul is yours as a reward for such news, if you desire it;

Take it with charm and gentle voice

Take it, along with all my new wealth and old inheritance.

إذا ما الناس ترغب في كنوزٍ

فبنت العم مكتنزي وزادي

While people covet treasures and goods

While other men may covet hoarded treasures,

The daughter of the prince, you are my treasure and provision

My cousin is my sole treasure and my provision.