أَصُبَيْحٌ شِيمَ أَمْ بَرْقٌ بَدَا
أَمْ سَنَا المَحبوبِ أَوْرَى أَزنُدَا
Is it the dawn whose splendor appears, or lightning that flashes?
Or did the radiance of my beloved arise and illuminate?
هَبَّ مِن مرْقدِهِ مُنْكَسِراً
مُسْبِلاً للْكُمِّ مُرْخٍ للرِّدا
He rose from his bed distressed,
With disheveled locks and rumpled gown.
يمْسحُ النَّعْسةَ مِنْ عيْنَيْ رشا
صائِدٍ في كُلِّ يوْمٍ أَسدا
He wipes the drowsiness from his sleepy eyes,
A lion in pursuit of prey each day.
أَوْرَدتهُ لُطُفا آيتُهُ
صفْوةَ العيْشِ وأَرْعتْهُ ددا
I cherished him with kindness, his beauty supreme,
The finest life, and I protected him.
فَهْوَ مِن دلٍّ عراهُ زُبْدةٌ
مِن صريحٍ لم يُخَالِطْ زَبدا
He is sincere, not mixed with impurity,
Pure, unadulterated, without pretense.
قُلْتُ هَبْ لي يا حبِيبِي قُبْلَةً
تَشْفِ مِن غَمّك تَبريح الصَّدى
I said “Come, my darling, and give me a kiss
To relieve your worries and soothe your pain.”
فانثَنَى يَهْتَزُّ مِن مَنكِبِه
قائِلاً لا ثُمَّ أَعْطَانِي اليدا
He turned aside, trembling at my plea,
Saying “No!” then held out his hand to me.
كُلَّما كَلَّمنِي قَبَّلْتُهُ
فَهْو إِمّا قال قَوْلاً ردَّدا
Whenever I spoke he kissed me,
If he said a word I echoed it back.
كاد أَنْ يرْجِع مِن لَثْمِي له
وارْتِشَافِي الثَّغْر منه أَدْرَدَا
He almost swooned from my kisses,
My sipping his lips made him melt.
قال لي يلْعبُ صِدْ لي طائِراً
فترانِي الدَّهْر أَجْرِي بالكُدَى
He said “Beguile me, make me your bird,
And you will see me racing with my troubles.”
وإِذا اسْتَنْجَزْتُ يَوْماً وَعْدَه
قالَ لي يَمْطُلُ ذَكِّرْنِي غَدا
If I ask him to fulfill a promise someday,
He says “Remind me again tomorrow.”
شَرِبَتْ أَعْطَافُهُ خَمْرَ الصِّبا
وسَقَاه الحُسْنُ حَتَّى عَرْبَدَا
He sipped the wine of youth till drunk,
Beauty quenched his thirst till overfull.
وإِذا بِتُّ به في رَوْضة
أَغْيَداً يَعْرُو نَباتاً أَغْيَدَا
If we spend the night in a garden,
Lush, with burgeoning plants,
قامَ في اللَّيْلِ بجيدٍ أَتْلَعٍ
يَنْفُضُ اللمّةَ مِن دَمْعِ النَّدَى
He arises at midnight troubled,
Shaking off drowsiness with his teardrops.
رَشَأٌ بَلْ غادةٌ مَمْكُورةٌ
عُمِّمَتْ صُبْحاً بلَيْلٍ أَسْوَدَا
No! He is a restless, sleepless gazelle
Who wakes at dawn after a dark night.
أَحَحَتْ مِن غَضَّتِي في نَهْدِها
ثُمَّ عَضَّتْ حُرَّ وَجْهي عَمَدَا
She moaned from the pain I caused,
Then in anger she bit my face intentionally.
فَأنَا المجْرُوحُ مِن عَضَّتِهَا
لا شَفانِي اللَّهُ منها أَبَدَا
So I am the wounded one from her bite,
May God never cure me of it!
ومَكانٍ عازِبٍ مِن جِيرَةٍ
أَصْدِقَاءٍ وهُم عَيْنُ العِدَا
In a lonely place, far from any neighbors,
Friends, the apple of my eye.
ذِي نباتٍ طَيِّبٍ أَعْرَافُهُ
كَعِذَارِ الشَّعْر في الخَدِّ بَدَا
It has good vegetation, its surroundings
Like the down on a cheek when it first appears.
تَحْسَبُ الهَضْبَةَ منه جَبَلاً
وحُدُورَ الماءِ منه أَبْردَا
You’d think its hill a mountain,
Its pond a cold, gushing spring.
قُلْتُ إِذ خَيَّمْتُ فيه قاطِناً
وتَلاقَتْنِي الأَمَانِي سُجَّدَا
When I stayed there, pitching my tent,
My hopes prostrated themselves before me.
وَرَأَيْتُ الدَّهْرَ خَوْفِي ساكِناً
وبَنِي الأَحْرَارِ حَوْلِي أَعْبُدَا
I saw fear itself living there,
And free men gathered around me.
جادَ مَن أَصْبَحْتُ في أَيَّامِه
والرَّدى يَحْذَرُ مِن خَوْفِي الردَى
He whose days I spent flourished,
While doom itself feared me.
مَلِكٌ يُحْسَبُ عَدْلاً مَلَكاً
وإِمامٌ أَمَّ فينا فَهَدَى
A king thought to be just in his rule,
An imam who rightly guided us.
خِلْتُهُ والرُّمْحُ في راحَتِهِ
قَمَراً يَحْمِلُ منه فَرْقَدَا
I pictured him with a spear in his hand
Like a moon carrying a shining sword.
نِعمَ ما اخْتَرْتُ لنَفْسِي فاعْلَمُوا
إِنْ زَمَانٌ جارَ أَوْ صَرْفٌ عَدَا
Know well the choice I made for myself,
Whether time brought harm or destiny struck.
لَيْسَ من يَعْشُو إِلى نار القِرى
مِثْلَ مَن يَعْشُو إِلى نارِ الهُدَى
Not like one who lives fearing villages aflame,
But one who lives fearing the fire of truth.
