هِيَ الوَجنَةُ الحَمراءُ وَالشَفَةُ اللَميا
لَقَد تَرَكاني في الهَوى مَيِّتاً حَيّا
It is the crimson cheek and the dusky lip—
Together they have left me, in love, living yet dead.
هُما أَلبَسا جسمي سَقاماً وَأَورَثا
فُؤادي غَراماً حِملُهُ الصَبَّ قَد أَعيا
They clothed my body in sickness and bequeathed
My heart a passion whose burden has exhausted the ardent lover.
فَمِن مُهجَتي نارٌ وَمِن مُقلَتي حَيا
مَتى اِشتعلَت هَذي تَزيد ذا جريا
From my soul comes fire, and from my eye comes rain;
Whenever this fire flares, that rain flows all the more.
وَبي مَن إِذا ناجَيته ذُبتُ هَيبَةً
وَجانَبتُهُ جَهراً وَهمتُ بِهِ خِفيا
I love one whom, when I speak with him in secret, I melt in awe;
I shun him openly, while secretly wandering lost in love for him.
مَليحٌ إِذا ما لاحَ أَبهتَ من رَنا
فَأَردى الَّذي أَنأى وَأَحيا الَّذي حيّا
A beauty who, whenever he appears, leaves all who gaze dumbfounded:
He slays the one who draws away and revives the one who offers greeting.
عَليمٌ بنِيّاتِ النُفوسِ وَما حَوَت
كَأَنَّ لَهُ مِن نَحوِ أَسرارِها وَحيا
He knows the intentions of souls and all they contain,
As though he had received a revelation concerning their secrets.
تَجَمَّعَت الأَضدادُ فيهِ مَحاسِناً
فَعبستُهُ مَوتٌ وَبَسمَتُه مَحيا
Opposites have come together in him as beauties:
His frown is death, while his smile is life;
وَغُرَّتُهُ بَدرٌ وَطُرَّتُهُ دُجىً
وَأَعطافُه ظَمأى وَأَردافُه رَيّا
His brow is a full moon, while his forelock is darkness;
His waist is parched and slender, while his haunches are lush and full.
أَعارَ اِعتِدالاً كُلَّ غُصنٍ كَمثلِ ما
أَعارَ السَنى وَالناضِرَ الشَمسَ وَالظَبيا
He lent perfect poise to every branch, just as
He lent radiance and freshness to the sun and the gazelles.
وَأَخجلَ نورَ الشَمسِ لَما تَقابَلا
فَحُمرتُهُ إِذ غابَ من فَرط ما اِستَحيا
He made the sunlight blush when the two met;
Its redness as it vanished came from the depth of its shame.
عَجِبتُ لِخالٍ حَلَّ في وَسطِ أَنفِهِ
وَعَهدي بِهِ وَسطَ الخُدودِ يرى وَشيا
I marvel at a beauty mark settled in the middle of his nose,
For I had always known it amid cheeks, appearing there as ornament.
وَلَكنَّما خَدّاهُ فيهِ تَغايَرا
هَوىً فَاِبتَغى مِن وَجهِهِ أَوسَطَ الأَشيا
But his two cheeks quarreled over it
Out of desire, so it sought the very midpoint of his face.
وَحُسنُ الفَتى في الأَنف وَالأَنفُ عاطِلٌ
فَكَيفَ إِذا ما الخالُ كانَ لَهُ طَيا
A young man's beauty lies in the nose—and the nose is unadorned;
How then, when a beauty mark becomes its adornment?
أَيا باخِلا حَتّى بِتَقبيلِ كَفِّهِ
عَلى مَن سَخا حَتّى بِحوباه في الدُنيا
O you who are too miserly even to let me kiss his palm,
Toward one who has been generous even with his very soul in this world!
أَلَم تَدرِ أَنّي طوعُ حُسنِكَ دائِماً
وَقَلبيَ لا يَعصِيك أَمراً وَلا نَهيا
Do you not know that I am forever obedient to your beauty,
And that my heart disobeys you in neither command nor prohibition?
Sol 5.6