حَدِيثُكِ ما أَحْلَى فَزِيْدِي وَحَدِّثِي

عَنِ الرَّشإِ الفَرْدِ الجَمَالِ المُثَلِّثِ

Your talk, how sweet! So speak more and converse with me

About the lovely, unique, sublime, unmatched beauty.

ولا تَسْأَمِي ذِكْرَاهُ فالذِكْرُ مُؤْنِسِي

وإنْ بَعَثَ الأشواقَ مِن كلِّ مَبْعَثِ

And do not tire of mentioning him, for remembering is my companion,

Though it rouses longing from every awakening.

وبالله فَارقِي خَبلَ نَفْسِي بقوله

وفي عَقْدِ وَجْدِي بالإعادة فانفُثِي

For God's sake, cure the madness of my soul with his words,

And with repeating in the knot of my passion, breathe into me.

أَحَقَّاً وقد صَرَّحْتُ ما بِيَ أنَّهُ

تَبَسَّمَ كاللاَّهِي بنا المُتَعَبِّثِ

Truly, though I have confessed what ails me,

He smiled at me knowingly, playing with one troubled.

وأَقْسَمَ بالإِنْجِيلِ إنِّي لَمَائِنٌ

وناهِيكَ دَمْعِي من مُحِقٍّ مُحَنَّثِ

And he swore by the Bible, "I am verily a comforter,"

Yet do not reproach my tear from one sincere but false.

ولا بُدَّ مِن قَصِّي على القَسِّ قِصَّتِي

عَسَاهُ مُغِيثَ المُدْنَفِ المُتَغَوِّثِ

And I must tell my story to the priest, tell him my tale,

Maybe he will help the outcast, the one crying for help.

فلم يَأْتِهِمْ عِيْسَى بِدِيْنِ قَسَاوَةٍ

فَيَقْسُوْ على مُضْنىً ويَلْهُوْ بِمُكْرَثِ

Jesus did not bring them a religion of cruelty

To be cruel to the anguished and toy with the wretched.

وَقَلْبِيَ مِنْ حَلْيِ التَّجَلُّدِ عاطلٌ

هَوَىً في غزالٍ ذي نِفَارٍ مُرَعَّثِ

And my heart is free of the finery of pretense,

Passionately loving a shy gazelle, unkempt and disheveled.

سَيُصبحُ سِرِّي كالصَّباحِ مُشَهَّراً

ويُمْسِي حَدِيثِي عُرْضَةَ المُتَحَدِّثِ

My secret will shine forth like the dawn,

And my conversation will be the talk amongst all who converse.

وَيَغْرَى بذِكرِي بين كأسٍ وروضةٍ

وَيُنْشِدُ شِعْرِي بين مَثْنىً ومِثْلَثِ

And he will boast of me between a cup and a garden,

And recite my poetry between pairs and trios.