Claude 2

  1. غزالٌ غزا قلبي بخيْلِ صُدودِه

    وخدَّد أحشائي بورْدِ خدودِه

    A gazelle has raided my heart with the spears of his eyelashes,

    And lacerated my entrails with the roses of his cheeks.

  2. وقدَّ قُوَى صدرِي بقامةِ قدِّه

    وأردفَ أكبادي برمح نُهودِه

    My chest has been strengthened by the stature of his forearm,

    And my liver has been kicked by the blow of his glance.

  3. يماطلني إنْ رُمت إنجازَ وعده

    بنفسي غزالٌ لا بقي بوعوده

    He teases me if I want him to fulfill his promise;

    A gazelle, not true to his oaths with my soul.

  4. ويُخْلِفني لما طلبتُ وصالَه

    وينجزُ لي من وَعده بوعيده

    He breaks his word when I request his company,

    And fulfills for me his promise with threats.

  5. أغارُ عليه من لِحَاظي فكيف لا

    أغارُ عليه من قلائِد جيده

    How can I not be jealous of him from my cheek?

    How can I not envy him for the necklaces on his neck?

  6. رعى اللهُ يوم البين جادَ بنظرةٍ

    على رَغم واشية ورغم حسوده

    May God protect the day we parted, when he glanced

    Defiantly, despite the slanderers and enviers.

  7. تَجلّى فخلت الشمسَ تحتَ سمائه

    وولّي فخلتُ البدرَ تحتَ بروده

    He appeared, so the sun faded beneath his sky,

    And he turned away, so I abandoned the moon in his coldness.

  8. ولا تنس إن جئتَ الغويرْ ولعلماً

    فعرّجْ بوادي المُنْحَنَى وزَرُودِه

    If you come to al-Ghuwayr, do not forget—for knowledge—

    To stop at the valley of al-Munhani and its flowers.

  9. هنالك لي وُدّ قديمٌ وطالمَا

    شفيت جَوَى قلبي بِلَثْم صِعيده

    There, I have an old love, and often

    My heart’s thirst was quenched by kissing its ground.

  10. وحيِّ رُبَى نجد ورَملة عالجٍ

    ومرَّ بنعمانٍ وطُفْ بنجودِه

    Give regards to the highlands of Najd and the sands of ‘Alaj,

    And pass by Numan and roam around its gazelles.

  11. وسلّم على رَبْع لسلمى وزينبٍ

    به فتكتْ آرامُه بأسودِه

    Send greetings to Rab’a for Salma and Zaynab,

    With whom elegance was perfected through its lions.

  12. وحدثْ عن الحيِّ الحُلُول بضارح

    وأخبرْه عن بالِي الهوَى وجديده

    Tell of the living district of al-Hulul, which stirs

    And inform it of the passion in my heart and its renewal.

  13. وشِمْ بارقاً بالرقمتين وحاجرٍ

    ولا تَسْلُ عنه إنْ وَفَى بعهودِه

    Mark the two oath stones and Hajir,

    And do not ask if he has kept his oaths.

  14. وعرِّج على وادي الغضا وظلاله

    وخذْ خبرا عنه وعن روعة بيده

    Stop by the valley of al-Ghada and its shade,

    And get news of it and the beauty of its handwriting.