أترى من أحب ينجز وعدا

في الهوى أم تراه يحفظ عهدا

Does he who loved fulfill his promise of love?

Or does he rather preserve his vow?

برّح الوجد في الفؤاد ولولا

حبّه ما شكا فؤادي وجدا

Passion overwhelmed my heart, else

My heart would not have felt such agony.

نام عن ليل مغرم تيمته

صبوة تكحل النواظر سهدا

A lover slept through the night, dreaming of his beloved,

While the eyes of the wakeful were lined with kohl.

فإذا رمت نيله صدّ بخلا

وإذا رمت قربه زاد بعدا

When he sought to draw near, he was pushed back in rejection;

When he desired closeness, the distance grew wider.

جهدت في الهوى أماني نفسي

والأمانيّ تعقب النفس جهدا

My soul vainly struggled in love,

For hopes ever elude and torment the soul.

قلت ان الغزال يأنس وصلا

فتمادى به النفار وصدّا

I thought the gazelle might enjoy companionship,

But the ostrich spurned him and turned away.

وتأملت ان للغصن عطفاً

بالمعنى فمال عني قدّا

I pondered whether the bough might bend in sympathy,

But it straightened and rose higher instead.

ظمأى للشّراب لاقى سراباً

لامعاً يضرم الجوانح وقدا

Thirsty, I beheld a shimmering mirage,

Kindling the breasts with false hopes.

ورد القلب في هواك عذاباً

أيها المانعي من العذب وردا

My heart, in its love for you, suffered torment.

O you who deny the sweetness of love!

يا رياض الخدود دمت وان لم

يجتني الطرف من رياضك وردا

O gardens of soft cheeks, may you last, though

My eyes can no longer cull roses from your gardens.

ذقت مرّ الصدود منك مراراً

فاسقني مرّة من الرّيق شهدا

I have tasted the bitterness of your disdain repeatedly,

So give me now a taste of the sweetness of your lips.

صبوتي في الهوى وحسنك كل

منهما جل وصفه ان يحدّا

I have poured out my love for you, and your beauty -

Both are beyond any words to confine.

ان يفق حسنك الملاح فاني

فقت أهل الهوى غراماً ووجدا

If your beauty awakens the sleeper, I have been

roused from heedlessness to passion and agony by love for you.