أما الغلام فقد حانت فضيحته

وإنه كان مستوراً فقد هتكا

The youth's disgrace has now come to pass

As for the young man, the time for his exposure has come,

Though he was once concealed, now laid bare

And though he was once concealed, his veil has now been torn.

ما زال يضحك من أهل الهوى عجباً

فالىن كل جهول منه قد ضحكا

He still amazes lovers with laughter

He never ceased laughing in astonishment at those who love,

As every fool now laughs at him

Yet now, every ignorant fool has come to laugh at him.

اليك لا تلح صباً هائماً كلفاً

يرى التهتك في دين الهوى نسكا

Do not insist, wandering, zealous youth

Away with you! Do not blame an infatuated, wandering, yearning soul

Who sees chastity in love as worship

Who sees reckless abandon as piety within the creed of passion.

قد كان دهراً يعاني النسك مجتهداً

يعد في نسكه كل امرئ مسكا

For long he strove to worship chastely

For a long age he practiced ascetic devotion with great diligence,

Counting each man's way as pure worship

Deeming every person, in his piety, to be fragrant as musk.

ذو مخبر وكتاب لا يفارقه

نحو المحدث يسعى حيث ما سلكا

With an informer and book he never leaves

A man of sound reports, never parted from his book,

He hastens to the gossip wherever he turns

Rushing toward the master of Hadith wherever he walked.

فاعتاض من سمر أقلام بنان فتى

كأنه من لجين صيغ أو سبكا

So a witty youth of sweet mouth's gatherings

Then he traded the dark-hued pens for the fingertips of a youth,

As if molded of soft clay or forged of iron

As though fashioned or cast from pure molten silver.

يا لائمي سفهاً في ذاك قل فلم

تشهد جبينين يوم الملتقى اشتبكا

Oh you who blame me foolishly, say why

O you who foolishly censure me for this, tell me: why, when

Have you never seen two brows meet in battle?

You did not witness two brows passionately entwined on the day of meeting?

دعني ووردي في الآبار أطلبه

إليك عني كذا لا أبتغي البركا

Leave me be, let me seek my roses

Leave me be, and let me seek my drink from the deep wells;

From you, my eye thus seeks no blessing

Begone from me, for in this way I desire no shallow pools!

إذا تعففت عف الحب عنك وإن

تركت يوماً فإن الحب قد تركا

If I abstain from love for you

If you practice restraint, love restrains itself from you, and if

And one day leave, then love has left

You turn away one day, love too has turned away.

ولا تحل من الهجران منعقداً

إلا إذا ما حللت الأزر والتككا

No bond of estrangement can be loosed

And do not untie the knot tied by separation

Unless you undo both robe and belt

Unless you are ready to untie the waist-wraps and cords.

ولا تصحح للسلطان مملكة

أو تدخل البرد عن انفاده السككا

You cannot make the sultan’s realm right

Nor is a kingdom made sound for a sovereign,

Or drive away the cold when it has gripped

Unless the courier-posts traverse the pathways at his dispatch.

ولا بغير كثير المسح يذهب ما

يعلو الحديد من الأصداء ان سبكا

Nor without ample polishing will what

Nor without constant, vigorous polishing can one remove

Clings to iron from echoing go

The layer of rust that coats iron once it is forged.