أَتاني في قميصِ اللاذِ يَسعى

عدوٌّ لي يلقَّبُ بالحبيبِ

He came to me, striding in a tunic of lādh cloth—

an enemy of mine who is dubbed “the beloved.”

فقلتُ من التعجب كيف هذا

بِلا واشٍ أَتيتَ وَلا رَقيبِ

In astonishment I said, “How can this be?

You have come with no tale-bearer and no watcher.”

فقالَ الشمسُ أَهدتْ لي قَميصاً

غريبَ اللَّوْنِ من شَفَقِ الغُرُوبِ

He said, “The sun bestowed upon me a tunic

of wondrous hue, from sunset’s afterglow.

فَثَوْبي والمُدامُ وَلونُ خَدِّي

قريبٌ مِنْ قريبٍ مِنْ قَرِيبِ

So my robe, the wine, and the hue of my cheek

are close kin—kin to kin to kin.”