أهيم وما قلبي من البين خائف — Mufti Fathallah

I wander lovesick, my heart unafraid of parting.

And where is the lover's heart, when love snatches it away?

And I yearn passionately, with love and ardent longing,

And I make merry; no tears stream from me.

And how could I weep, when love is a young man's joy,

And the joyful man's eye is dry of tears?

And I yearn for the graceful maiden, though she dwells in my heart's core,

And I remain devoted to my consuming passion for her.

She has settled in my innermost being, my eye, and my hearing;

So do I know or recognize anyone besides her?

And there is no limb but she is the life within it;

And each is enthralled by her, and love pierces the heart.

So I cannot do without her, in her presence or absence;

And alas for my heart! My patience is ruined.

A maiden of beauty; beauty itself is her beauty.

In her presence, all beautiful women are handmaids.

So describe her beauty in beauty's most radiant terms;

But no describer could ever encompass that beauty.

And that maiden has scorned the sun and the rising full moon;

And if she appears, the full moon vanishes, eclipsed.

I wounded her delicate cheek merely by imagining it;

Then a lightning flash appeared, dazzling my eye.

So she bloodied my heart with her glance in retaliation;

And her glance reddened with my heart's blood as it sipped.

My soul be ransom for her whose figure is like bamboo;

And her curves put the branch's swaying to shame.

And the east wind recounts the wonders of her grace;

And of Salih, by God, delightful tales are told.

A man of excellence, master of skill, companion of eloquence,

Eloquent of tongue, from whom rare delights are gathered,

Father of verse, then prose—pearls and jewels—

Through the magic of expression, beauty stands before him.

Necklaces of pearls, of precious jewels,

Their styles are radiant, beautiful, and exquisite.

The masters of eloquence agree on their beauty,

And none of them disagrees with that.

Astute, wise of soul, with exceptional discernment,

Through his understanding, knowledge is ever brought to him as tribute.

He has indeed gifted me a full-bodied poem, to whose excellence

An experienced, knowledgeable man of merit attests.

A bride of verse, yet a virgin, secluded maiden,

In a chamber of harmony no describer can fathom.

So may her mouth never be shattered, nor thought betrayed,

And indeed, whoever hates him is doomed for all time.

And may he live on under God's protection, in a life of plenty,

And may bordered cloaks be woven for him with glory, as an honor,

Through all time and all days, as long as a north wind blows,

And as long as a gale stirs the branches in the garden,

And as long as a gray dove sings on a branch in a grove,

And as long as voices ever call out through the ages.