بدالي الحبيب ولاح القمر

فجئ يا سمير وهئ يا سمر

My heart's beloved, the moon shone bright,

Come O Samir, come O dark beauty.

وخلف السياج الزهى احتفى

بنا الروض لما ازدهى وازدهر

Behind the fence, delight did reign,

As the garden, lit up, became yet more bright.

عفا الزهر عنا بأنظاره

لننعم من بعضنا بالنظر

The flowers forgave us with their gaze,

So we could feast our eyes upon each other.

فكان الحبيب نصيب العيون

وكان المحب حديد البصر

My love became the apple of my eyes,

While I was captive to his vision.

نظرت الجمال على وجهه

فطالعت أجمل خلق الصور

I looked upon his face and saw,

The most beautiful of all creation.

وطالع مني الأليف الحنيف الذي

ما عصى إلفه ما أمر

And from me emerged my gentle, loving friend,

Who never disobeyed a command.

فما قال في مرة لفظةً

تجر العتاب وتقضى الحذر

Never did he in anger utter,

A phrase that would end our love or caution.

فطابت لنا جلسة في الهوى

تحيط بنا مورقات الشجر

So a meeting of love was bliss for us,

Under trees with shimmering leaves.

تعرض إحدى وريقاتها

تنصف صورة وجه القمر

A single leaf would part to reveal,

The face of the moon in its contours.

فعاد هلالا وذاك العجيب أمن مد

حسن الحبيب انجزر

It became a crescent, that wondrous thing,

Dimmed by my love's splendor it seems.

ولسنا إلى الخمر في حاجةٍ

وخمر الصبابة فينا اختمر

No need for wine were we,

Love itself made us drunk.

وأحلى من النوم فوق الحرير

إذا طال رفق الحبيب السهر

Sweeter than slumber on silk was it,

When the beloved prolonged our waking.

وأعذب منه إذا رفني

فذقت الرضاب وكان الحذر

And more delicious when he chided me,

And I felt the rebuke but knew his care.

وأجمل من ذلكم كله

إذا لام ذوقي ثم اعتذر

Lovelier than all this to me,

Was when he gently explained after reproach.

فعذر الحبيب كهجر الرقيب

وظرف الزمان كلطف القدر

For my love's excuse was like a watcher's absence,

And time's caprice is fortune's whim.

وأمتع ما روح العاشقين امتثال

الحياة لطبع البشر

Most pleasurable for lovers' souls is life,

Yielding to human nature's disposition.

يحن إلى الروح من فيه روح من

النوع والكون فيه العبر

One soul yearns for another soul,

Creation bears witness to human bonds.

أليف يميل إلى إلفه

وأنثى يحن إليها الذكر

A beloved leans toward his love,

As man desires woman.

لقد قارب الليل أن ينتهي

ولم نرو غلتنا في السحر

The night now neared its end,

But we saw no sign of dawn.

وخاف الحبيب الصباح الفصوح

فقال النهار فقلت القمر

My love feared the breaking day,

So I said "It's the moon," and he said, "It's the sun."

أغالط والفجر في خيطه ابيضاض

وما كان يخشى ظهر

I lied, as the dawn thread whitened,

But nothing did he fear would part us.

فقال طغا الليل إذ غشنا

فقلت انتصف ليلنا ما كفر

He said "The night has been long as we were veiled,"

I said "Our night is but halfway done."

سلبنا من الدهر ليل الهوى

فكان السليب ونحن النور

We stole from fate a night of love,

So our loot is the light in our hearts.