شَجتْهُ مغَانٍ مِن سُلَيْمى وأَدْؤرُ

وأُخْرى اعْتَلَقْنَا دُونَهُنَّ ودُونَها

Her charms enticed me from Suleima and Adwar,

And others I left behind those two.

قُصُورٌ وحُجّاب ووالٍ ومعْشَرُ

يُزَيِّنُها ماءُ النَّعيمِ وحفَّها

Palaces and curtains, rulers and tribes -

The water of bliss adorns them and surrounds them.

مِن العيْشِ فَيْنَانُ الأَراكَةِ أَخْضَرُ

إِذا رامهَا ذُو حاجة صدَّ وجْهَهُ

The most verdant of dwellings, the most blissful life,

When the needy man heads for it, he is turned away.

ظُبا الباتِراتِ والوشِيجُ المُكَسَّرُ

ومِن قُبّةٍ لا يُدْرِكُ الطَّرْفُ رأَسها

The shy, wild cows, and the broken, twisted trees,

And from a dome that no eye can see the top of,

تَزِلُّ بها رِيحُ الصَّبا فَتَحدَّرُ

إِذا زاحمتْ منها المخَارِم صوَّبتْ

The wind makes it sway, so it slides down,

When the winds contend with it, it directs

هُويّا على بُعْدِ المدى وهْي تَجْأَرُ

تَكَلَّفْتُهَا واللَّيْلُ قد جاشَ بحْرُهُ

Them far into the distance, while it snarls loudly.

I indulged myself while the night surged with its seas,

وقد جعلَتْ أَمْواجُهُ تَتَكَسَّرُ

ومِن تَحْتِ حِضْني أَبْيضٌ ذُو سَفَاسِقٍ

And its waves were crashing.

Beneath my bosom is a smooth white branch,

وفي الكَفِّ مِن عسّالةِ الخَطِّ أَسْمرُ

هُما صاحِباي مِن لَدُن كُنْتُ يافِعاً

And in my palm a dark one from a slender willow.

They are my two companions since my youth,

مُقِيلانِ مِن جدِّ الفَتَى حين يَعْثُرُ

فذا جَدْوَلٌ في الغِمْدِ تُسْقَى به المُنَى

Supporting the vigor of the young man when he stumbles.

This is a brook in a scabbard from which wishes are watered,

وذا غُصُنٌ في الكَفِّ يُجْنَى فيُثْمِرُ

إِلى بَيْتِ لَيْلى وهو فَرْد بذي الغَضا

And this is a bough in the palm which fruits and blooms.

To the abode of Layla, still alone at Dhu Gaddah,

يضِيءُ لعَيْنِ المُسْتَهَامِ ويزْهرُ

فبتْنَا على ضمٍّ لفَرْطِ اشْتِياقِنَا

It lights the way for the lost and blossoms.

We stayed pressed together in our intense longing,

تكادُ له أَكْبَادُنَا تَتَفَطَّرُ

ودَوِّيّةٌ مِن فِتْنَةٍ مُدْلَهِمّةٍ

Our livers almost cracked from it.

An expert charmer of the tents, notorious

دَرِيسِ الصَّوَى مَعْرُوفُهَا مُتَنَكِّرُ

إِذا جابَها الخِرِّيت في طُرُقَاتِهَا

For her devastating, reckless magic,

When she encountered the muleteers on their paths

يَظَلُّ بها أَعْمَى وإِنْ كانَ يُبْصِرُ

تَرى ثابِتاتِ الحُكْمِ عِنْدَ اعْتِسافِها

They are blinded by her even if they can see.

You see the rational minds in their drunkenness

تَزلُّ على أَدْفافِها فَتَهَوَّرُ

وإِنْ سَلَكَتْ أَضْوَاجَهَا عَييَتْ بها

Sliding down their supports and plunging down.

And if she took the reins of her husbands, she confuses them,

عَوارِبَ من ذِي مُطْرياتٍ تَزَجَّرُ

وسِرْنَا نَجُوزُ النَّهْجَ حتَّى بَدا لنا

Startling the pacing camels so they shuffle along.

We walked the road until Yahya's hill appeared to us,

بغُرّةِ يَحْيى ساطِعُ اللَّوْنِ أَزْهَرُ

Radiant and most verdant.