للهِ سِرُّ جَمالٍ أنْتِ مَعْناهُ
حَسبي بهِ وكَفَى أنّي مُعَنَّاهُ
God has a secret of beauty, you are its meaning
It suffices me, and enough that I yearned for it
مَنْ لي بظبيٍ فُؤادي دونَ صَوْنَتِهِ
عَنْ ناظِري والثُّريّا دونَ مَثْواهُ
Who can protect my heart without its protection
From my onlooker, and nestle it from its settling place
غُزيِّلٌ غَزلَتْ ألحاظُهُ جَسَدي
أرقُّ من غَزَلي في لُطفِ مَعْناهُ
A gazelle, whose glances entwine my body
I am more gentle than its gentleness in its meaning's subtlety
ساجِي الجُفونِ وَقاحُ الوَجْهِ ماجِنُهُ
مفرَّغُ البالِ عَمَّنْ باتَ يَهواهُ
Of sleepy eyelids and shameless face, obscene is he
Empty of mind, from the one he loved at night
يَفْتَرُّ عن مَبْسمٍ يا ما أُمَيْلِحَهُ
يَجُولُ فيهِ رُضابٌ ما أُحَيْلاهُ
He smiles a smile, oh how coquettish it is!
Flirtations ramble in it, oh how crafty!
كالوَرْدِ وَجْنَتُهُ والشَّهْدِ رِيقَتُهُ
والسِّلْكِ مَبْسِمُهُ والمِسْكِ ريَّاهُ
Like a rose its dimple, and honey its saliva
And silk its smile, and musk its scent
بدرٌ ولكنْ سَوادُ العَيْنِ مَطلَعُه
ظَبْيٌ ولكن سُوَيْدا القَلْبِ مَرْعاهُ
A full moon but the blackness of eyes is its rise
A gazelle but the darkness of heart is its pasture
يَهتزُّ عن قامَةٍ سُبحانَ مُبدِعها
قد تُوِّجَتْ وَجْنةً تبارَكَ اللهُ
It sways a stature, glory to its Creator
It has been crowned a heavenly garden, blessed is God
لولا تَجنِّيهِ قُلْتُ الخُلدُ مَنْشؤُهُ
وأنَّ رِضْوانَ في الفِردَوْسِ رَبَّاهُ
If not for its bashfulness, I would say eternity is its origin
And that ridwan in paradise fostered it
شُوَيْدِنٌ صاغَهُ بارِيهِ مِنْ فِتَنٍ
أعْدَى الخطوبِ على الإنسان مَرآهُ
An idol, its Creator formed it of temptations
The most hostile of calamities to man is its sight
أستَغفرُ اللهَ بل أدْنى مَلامِحِه
ألَذُّ ما حَوَتِ الدُّنيا وأشْهاهُ
I seek God's forgiveness, but its slightest features
Are the most delightful the world contains, and most wondrous
يا جنَّةً عَذَّبَتْ قَلْبي بِنِعمَتِها
فَما أمَرَّ جَناها لي وأحْلاهُ
Oh you garden who has tortured my heart with its bliss
So the bitterness of its foliage is not bitter to me
تَمَنَّتِ النَّفسُ لو تَحْظَى بُمنْيَتِها
أعَزُّ ما لِمُحِبٍّ ما تَمَنَّاهُ
The soul desired that if it obtained its wishes
The most honourable thing for a lover is what it desires
مَنْ لي عَلى غُلَّتي بِرَشْفِ ذي أُشُرٍ
كأنَّما أُشْرِبتْ شَهْداً ثَناياهُ
Who can give me in my fervour a mouthful of the bashful
As if I was made to drink honey its dimples
دبَّتْ عَلى خَدِّهِ للصُّدْغِ عَقربُهُ
فَقَدْ حَسَتْ عن جَنَى وَهْمٍ حُمَيَّاهُ
There crept on his cheek, a scorpion to the sideburns
So it perceived from the fruits of fanciful, ardent love
يا بَدْرَ سَعْدٍ هَدى نَفْسي لِضِلَّتِها
وظَبْيَ بُعْدٍ لِقَلْبي ساقَ بَلْواهُ
Oh full moon of fortune! It guided my straying soul
And gazelle of distance! It led my heart to its affliction
رُحْماكَ في عاشِقٍ قد عادَ آمِرَهُ
بالحُبِّ مَنْ كان جَهلاً عنهُ يَنهاهُ
Have mercy on a lover whom love had commanded
With love, he who was ignorant of it, it prohibits him
خَلَعتُ فيكَ عِذاري إذْ بَدا عُذُري
في مَنظرٍ قَدْ وَشَى فيهِ عِذاراهُ
I have unveiled my excuse for you since my excuse appeared
In a spectacle which has inscribed within it excuses
نَمْ مِلْءَ عَينيكَ يا مَنْ ظَلَّ يُسْهِرُني
إن رُمْتُ عَنْكَ سُلُوّاً زادَني اللهُ
Sleep happily, O you who kept me awake
If I ever keep away from you, may God increase me in wakefulness
