عَفا اللَهُ عَن أَحباب قَلبي فَإِنَّني
لبعدهُم قَد عفت ما ذقت مِن صبرِ
May God forgive the loved ones of my heart, for after they left
I forgave what I had tasted of patience.
أَنا المفردُ المَهجور لما تَخلَّقوا
خَلائِقَ أَهلِ الكسر للقلب لا الجبرِ
I am the solitary, abandoned one, since they took on
The morals of the people of fragility, not strength.
هَنيئاً لَهُم قَتلي وصفوُ مودّتي
فَإِنَّهم الأَحبابُ في العسر واليسرِ
Congratulations to them for killing me and describing my love,
For they are the loved ones in ease and in hardship.
وَإِن كنتُ ممّن لا تضيعُ دماؤهم
فَوَ الشَفعِ إِنّي قَد عفوت عَن الوترِ
And if I am one whose blood is not wasted,
By my life I have forgiven the severing of ties.
وَقالوا تبدَّل من هواهم بغيرهم
فَقلت لَهُم هَل ينطفي الجمرُ بِالجَمرِ
And they said, “He has changed from loving them to loving others,”
So I said to them, “Can embers be extinguished with embers?”
لئن مالَ إِنساني لرؤية غيرهم
فَوَالعصر إِنّي بَعدَ ذا الصبر في خسرِ
If my humanity inclined to seeing others besides them
By my life, after this patience I am at loss.
وَإِنّي لأَرجو أَن تسامحني النوى
بِوَصلهمُ من قبل أَن يَنقَضي عمري
And I hope the resolve will forgive me
For joining them before my life runs out.
وَأَغيد من إِشراق خدّيه قَد بَدا
دَليلٌ بأنّ الخدّ يَروي عَن الزهري
The radiance of his cheek has appeared
As evidence that the cheek narrates about flowers.
وَمذ لاح في الخدّ اِخَضرارُ عذاره
تواتر عِندي ما رَواه عَن الخضرِ
Since greenness sparkled on the cheek in its pride
What the Evergreen narrated has recurred to me.
وَيا طال ما أَغنى محيّاهُ عَن شَذا
رياض وَأَلوان من الراح والزهرِ
How long has his smile sufficed instead of
Gardens and colors of fragrance and flowers?
فخدّاه تفاحي وَعَيناه نرجسي
وعارضُه مسكي وريقتُه خمري
His cheeks are apple-like, his eyes narcissus-like
His cheek smooth as musk, his complexion wine-like
وَليلةَ بتنا وَالرَقيب بمعزلٍ
وَلَم أَرَ مِن ناهٍ يُحاول عن أَمري
One night we lay together while the watcher was absent
And I saw no forbidder attempting to stop me
فَما زلت أُسقى راحَهُ ورضابه
إِلى أَن عقلتُ العقلَ في مربط السكرِ
I went on drinking his rest and slumber
Until I lost my mind in the bonds of intoxication
وخرّ صَريعاً لا حِراكَ به فَما
تعفّفتُ عَن إِثم وَلَم أخلُ عَن وزرِ
And he fell unconscious, unmoving, so I did not
Refrain from sin or neglect crime.
عَفا اللَهُ عَنّي هَل أَقول قصيدة
وَلا أَشتَكي فيها من الصدّ والهجرِ
May God forgive me! Shall I compose a poem
And not complain in it of aloofness and estrangement?
وَهَل لي يا بَدر الدُجى أَن أَراكَ قَد
وَصلتَ فأَحيا باللقا ليلةَ البدرِ
O full moon of darkness, will I ever see you again
United, and brought to life by the meeting, on the night of the full moon?
وَهَل تَنطَوي أَيّامُ بعدك باللّقا
وَأَحيا إِذا حيَّيتَ قَلبي بالنشرِ
After you, will days fold up with further meetings,
And will I live when you greet my heart with joy?
فَما لَكَ عذرٌ في جَفاء متيّمٍ
أَقامَ عَلى ما سنّ شرع الهَوى العذري
You have no excuse for spurning longing Tamim
Who stood by what the law of passion made lawful.
فَساعَةُ وَصلٍ منك بَل بَعضُ ساعةً
أَودُّ شِراها لَو تيسّر بالعمرِ
One moment of union from you - no, part of a moment -
I would buy, if it were possible, with my life.
