أما إنه لولا الدموع الهوامع

لما بان مني ما تجن الأضالع

Had it not been for the flowing tears

Truly, were it not for the flowing tears,

My inner feelings would not have been revealed

What my ribs conceal would not have been revealed.

وكم هتكت ستر الهوا أعين المها

وهاجت لي الشوق الديار البلاقع

And how many times did the eyes of love uncover

How often have eyes like the wild oryx torn the veil of love,

The veil of passion, arousing longing for the deserted dwellings

And desolate ruins stirred up longing within me.

خليلي ما لي كلما لاح بارقٌ

تلظى الحشا وارفضَّ منّي المدامعُ

My beloved, why is it that whenever a lightning flashes

O friends, why is it that whenever lightning flashes,

The darkness disperses and tears flow from me

My insides burn and tears pour forth from me?

هل الأفق في جنبيَّ بالبرق لامعٌ

أم المزن في جفنيَّ بالودق هامعُ

Is it the horizon flashing with lightning beside me

Does the horizon shine with lightning within my ribs,

Or is it my eyelids flickering with tenderness?

Or are rain clouds pouring down within my eyelids?

ففي القلب من نار الشجون مصايفٌ

وفي الخد من ماء الشؤون مرابعُ

So in my heart are ponds of passion’s fire

For in my heart are scorching summers born of the fire of grief,

And on my cheek are springs of affection's water

And upon my cheek are spring meadows fed by the water of weeping.

وما هاج هذا الشوق إلا مهفهَفٌ

هو البدرُ أو بدر الدجى منه طالع

This longing was stirred only by the one

Nothing stirred this longing but a slender-waisted one;

Who is the full moon or the rising moon in the darkness

He is the full moon, or the moon of the night rises from him.

إذا غاب يوماً فالقلوب مغاربٌ

وإن لاح يوماً فالجيوب مطالعُ

When he is absent one day, the hearts become setting places

If he is absent a day, hearts become the setting suns,

And when he appears one day, the bosoms become rising places

And if he appears a day, bosoms become the horizons of rising.

يضرج خديه الحياء كأنما

بخدَّيه من فتك الجفون وقائع

His shyness tinges his cheeks as if

Modesty flushes his cheeks crimson, as if

The blows of eyelids on his cheeks were events

Upon his cheeks lie the battlefields of slaying glances.

رماني عن قوس المحاجر لحظه

بسهمٍ غدا من مهجتي وهو وادعُ

He shot me from the bow of his eyebrows with a glance

His glance shot me from the bow of his eye-sockets

That tomorrow became a wound from my innermost being, while he was bidding farewell

With an arrow that pierced my soul while he remained serene.

وما زلتُ من ألحاظه متوقيا

ولكنه ما حُمَّ لابد واقع

And I did not cease to guard myself from his glances

I remained ever wary of his gazing eyes,

But what is destined will inevitably happen

But what is destined is inevitably bound to occur.

يرق فتور اللحظ منه كأنه

إلى قلبه من قسوة الهجر شافعُ

The languor of his glance is soft as if

The languor of his glance softens, as if

It could gently persuade his heart of the harshness of separation

It pleads to his heart against the cruelty of abandonment.

كما رق بالآداب طبع محمدٍ

فحاكت لمى الأحباب منه الطبائعُ

Just as the nature of Muhammad was gently disposed

Just as Muhammad's nature became gentle through refinement,

So the touches of loved ones emulated his character

So his character mirrored the dark-red lips of beloveds.

رخيم حواشي الطرف حلوٌ كأنما

سجاياه أيام السرور الرواجعُ

The margins of his eyes are gently alluring as if

Mellow in the corners of his gaze, sweet as if

Their features were the happy memories returning

His attributes are the returning days of joy.

أبا بكر استوفيت زهر محاسن

تنافسها زهرُ النجوم الطوالعُ

Abu Bakr, you have fulfilled the peak of beauty

O Abu Bakr, you have fully possessed the blossoms of virtue,

Vying with the rising of the stars

Which the blossoms of the rising stars strive to rival.

قدحتُ زناداً من ذكائك لم يزل

ينير فتعشى البارقات اللوامعُ

I ignited from your intelligence a flame

I struck a spark from your wit that ceases not

That illuminates while the brilliant flashes shine

To shine, blinding the brilliant lightning flashes.

وما ذاك عن نيلٍ لديك رجوته

فيصدُقَ ظنٌّ أو يكذبَ طامعُ

And this is not because I hoped to attain any bounty from you

This is not for a bounty I hoped to receive from you,

So that some wishful thinking would prove true or false

Such that a surmise be verified or a covetous one proved false.

ولا أنا ممن يرتضي الشعر خلطةً

فتجذبه نحو الملوك المطامعُ

Nor am I one who would accept poetry as mere poetry

Nor am I one who is content to use poetry as a trade,

So that it would pull me greedily towards kings

Such that greed drags him toward kings.

ولكنَّ قلباً بين جنبي قد غدا

يجاذبني فيك الهوى وينازعُ

But a heart within my ribs has come

But a heart between my sides has come to

To wrestle me with passion towards you

Pull me towards you in love and contend within me.

طوى لك من محض الوداد كمائناً

تبدَّت لها فةوق اللسان طلائعُ

It has secretly harbored for you such affection

It concealed for you secrets of pure affection,

That its vanguards surpassed the tongue

The vanguards of which have now appeared upon my tongue.

أأزعُم في نظم البديع ولم يزل

لك السبق فيه والورى لك تابعُ

Shall I claim mastery in rhetorical composition while

Do I claim mastery in composing wondrous verse, while still

You were foremost in it and people follow you?

Precedence remains yours and all people follow you?

وأيُّ مقالٍ لي وقولُك سائرٌ

وأيُّ بديعٍ لي ومنك البدائعُ

What can my words do while yours flow smoothly

What speech can I offer when your words are renowned,

What beauty can I create while the beautiful things come from you?

And what novelty is mine when all marvels originate from you?