بِأَبي ظَبيٌ لعَهد قَد نَبَذ
جَبَذَت عَيناهُ قَلبي فَانجَبَذ
My father be ransom for a gazelle who has cast his pledge aside;
His eyes drew my heart, and helplessly it followed.
كُلُّ ذي حُسنٍ تَرى أَمثالَهُ
غَير مَحبوبي فَهوَ في الحُسنِ فَذ
For every possessor of beauty, you will find a peer—
Except my beloved: in beauty he stands alone.
يا غَريبَ الحُسنِ إِنّي سائِلٌ
وَزَكاةُ الحُسنِ تُعطى من شَحَذ
O wondrous beauty, I come to you a beggar,
And beauty’s alms are given to whoever begs.
قالَ ما تَبغِي فَقُلتُ قُبلَةً
تَشعَبُ القَلبَ الَّذي صارَ فِلَذ
He said, “What do you seek?” I answered, “A kiss
To mend the heart that has been torn to pieces.”
قالَ خُذها ثُم لا يَأخُذُها
أَحدٌ منّي وَلا كانَ أَخَذ
He said, “Take it—but afterward let no one
Take one from me; nor has anyone done so before.”
فَرَشفتُ مِن لُماهُ سَلسَلاً
وَحَلالي ذَلِكَ الرَشفُ وَلَذ
Then from his dusky lips I sipped a limpid sweetness;
Lawful to me was that sip—and delicious.
فَاختَبَطتُ فَأَتوا يَرقُونَني
حَسِبُوا أَن بِي مِن الجِنِّ الأَخَذ
I reeled in delirium, and they came chanting spells over me,
Thinking I had been seized by a jinn.
قال كُفُّوا ما بِهِ مِن جُنَّةٍ
إِنَّما سَهمِيَ فيهِ قَد نَفذ
He said, “Stop! There is no madness in him;
It is only that my arrow has pierced him.
إِنَّهُ لَمّا رَمَتهُ مُقلَتي
وَصلَ السَهمُ إِلى أَقصى القُذَذ
For when my eye shot him,
The arrow sank in all the way to its feathers.
لِيسَ داءُ الحُبِّ يشفى بِالرُقى
لا وَلا يَنفَعُ تَعليقُ العوَذ
The malady of love is not healed by incantations—
No, nor does the wearing of amulets avail.
بل شِفاءُ الحُبِّ وَصلٌ عاجِلٌ
وَاعتِناقٌ وَاجتماعٌ مُستَلَذ
Rather, love’s cure is union without delay,
An embrace and a delightful coming together.
Sol 5.6