طَلَعَ البَدرُ في دُجى الشَعَرِ
وَسَقى الوَردُ نَرجِسَ الحَوَرِ
The full moon rose in the darkness of her hair,
and the rose gave drink to the narcissus-eyes of the wide-eyed beauty.
غادَةٌ تاهَتِ الحِسانُ بِها
وَزَها نورُها عَلى القَمَرِ
A graceful maiden through whom fair women lost their way,
whose radiance outshone the moon.
هِيَ أَسنى مِن المَهاةِ سَناً
صورَةٌ لا تُقاسُ بِالصُوَرِ
In splendor she is lovelier than the oryx doe,
a form with which no other form can compare.
فَلَكُ النورِ دونَ أَخمَصِها
تاجُها خارِجٌ عَنِ الأُكَرِ
The sphere of light lies beneath the hollow of her sole;
her crown extends beyond the heavenly spheres.
إِن سَرَت في الضَميرِ يَجرَحُها
ذلِكَ الوَهمُ كَيفَ بِالبَصَرِ
If she passes through the inward mind, it wounds her—
that imagining; what, then, of sight?
لُعبَةٌ ذِكرُنا يُذَوِّبُها
لَطُفَت عَن مَسارِحِ النَظَرِ
A plaything—our remembrance melts her;
she is too subtle for the fields where vision ranges.
طَلَبَ النَعتُ أَن يُبَيِّنَها
فَتَعالَت فَعادَ ذا حَصَرِ
Description sought to make her manifest,
but she rose beyond it, and it returned tongue-tied.
وَإِذا رامَ أَن يُكَيِّفَها
لَم يَزَل ناكِصاً عَلى الأَثَرِ
Whenever it sought to give her a “how,”
it never ceased recoiling upon its tracks.
إِن أَراحَ المَطِيَّ طالِبُها
لَم تُرِح مَطِيَّةَ الفِكَر
If her seeker lets the mount rest,
the mount of thought finds no rest.
رَوحَنَت كُلَّ مَن أَشَبَّ بِها
نَقَلَتهُ عَن مَراتِبِ البَشَرِ
She spiritualized everyone who fell passionately in love with her,
and carried him beyond the ranks of humankind,
غيرَةً أَن يُشابَ رايِقُها
بِالَّذي في الحِياضِ مَن كَدَرِ
out of jealous care lest her limpid purity be mixed
with the murk found in pools.
