صَرَفتُ الهَوى إِذ عَنَّ عَن شادِنٍ شَطا

وَأَيُّ هَوى يَبقى لذي لِمَّةٍ شَمطا

I turned desire away when it strayed from a beloved's abode,

And what desire can remain for one whose bonds are loose?

فَلا يَستَنفِزُّ القَلبَ قَلبٌ بِمعصَمٍ

وَلا كاعِبٌ جَرَّت عَلى كَعبها المُرطا

No heart fires a heart that is in fetters,

Nor a spokeswoman whose ankles are chafed by shackles,

وَلا ناهِدٌ وَالنَحرُ نَهداهُ فُلِّكا

كَحُقَّينِ مِن عاجٍ أُجيدا مَعاً خَرطا

Nor a languishing gazelle with a throat made tender by the chokers,

Like two sculptures of ivory crafted together and polished,

وَلا شادِنٌ أَحوى المآقي مُرَعَّثٌ

وَصُولٌ إِذا يَرنو أَخافُ لَهُ شَحطا

Nor a beloved who has faded into the horizon, dishevelled,

And a visitant who, when he is denied access, I fear for him perdition.

مِن التُرك لَم يَنشأ بِنجدٍ وَإِنَّما

رَبا في عَرينِ الأُسدِ تُمسِكُهُ ضَغطا

He was not bred in Nejd, but rather

Was reared in the lion's den, held fast in its grip.

تَبايَنَ مِنهُ الرِدفُ وَالخَصرُ خِلقَةً

فَذا مُخصِبٌ رَيّاً وَذا مُجدِبٌ قَحطا

His shoulders and waist contrast in their moulding,

So this one makes fertile the meadows, and that one brings barren drought.

مُجَذَّبُ عَينٍ يَجذِبُ القلبَ عنوَةً

كَأَنَّ بِها هاروتَ يَأخذُهُ سَلطا

The captivating glance of an eye that pulls at the heart perforce,

As if Harut therein has taken hold of it with power.

تغازِلُ عَيناهُ الخليَّ إِلى الصِبا

وَيعذِرُهُ فيهِ عَذارٌ قَد اِختَطّا

His two eyes flirt with a diaphanous fair one,

And he makes excuses for it with an excuse that has been fabricated.

وَصورَةُ بَدرٍ قَد علتهُ ذُؤابَةٌ

تنوسُ عَلى متنيهِ كَالحَيَّةِ الرَقطا

The image of a full moon topped by an penis crown

That wanders upon its surface like a creeping adder,

تَرَكتُ لذاذاتِ الصِبا وَمجونَهُ

لِمَن لَم يَنَل فوادهُ مِن عُمرِهِ وَخطا

I have relinquished the pleasures of youth and its wantonness

To one whose heart has not gained its fill of it or transgressed.

وَجَرَّبت حَظّي مَع زَماني فَتارَةً

تَبعتُ الرِضى مِنهُ وَتارات السُخطا

I made trial of my fortune with my time, so at times

I followed contentment with it, and at others discontent.

وَعِفتُ الدَنايا لَم أَكُن قَطُّ سائِلاً

لِرِفد وَلَو أَنَّ النُضارَ بِهِ أُعطى

I knew sufficiency―never was I one to ask

For sustenance, even if the elite were given it.

سَجيَّةُ نَفسٍ نافَسَت في اِرتِضاعِها

بِثَديِ المَعالي أَو تُعاني بِها مَلطا

The nature of a soul that rivalled

In suckling the teat of noble deeds, or one that is compressed therein.

وَلي همةٌ هامَت بِإدراكِ غايَةٍ

مِن العِزِّ مَن يُبصر بِها يُكثِر الغَبطا

And I have a resolve that aspired to attain

A pinnacle of honour―he who perceives it increases longing.