لرايةَ وجهٌ يكسفُ الشمسَ والبدرا

ولدنُ قوامٍ ُيخجلُ الصَّعدةَ السمرا

Rāya has a face that eclipses the sun and the full moon,

And a supple figure that puts the dark spear-shaft to shame;

وثغرٌ كممطورِ الأقاحيّ واضحٌ

وسَلسالُ ريقٍ يَفضحُ الشهدَ والخمرا

A mouth like chamomile blossoms hidden away—and sweeter still,

And a limpid stream of saliva that shames honey and wine;

وجيدٌ كجيدِ الرّيمِ حالٍ مطوَّقٌ

يُزينُ الجُمان واليَوَاقيتَ والشذرا

A neck like the gazelle’s, dusky and ringed,

Lending beauty to pearls, rubies, and beads of gold;

غَزالية خُوطيةٌ جؤذريةٌ

خَدلَّجة غرَّاءُ ممكورة عَذْرا

A gazelle—willowy as a bough, fawnlike,

Full-limbed, radiant, shapely—a virgin maiden.

إذا نَظرَت أصْمت قلوباً وإن مشت

مشى الشَّوقُ في أحشاءِ عاشقها جهرا

When she looked, she struck hearts dumb; and when she walked,

Longing moved openly through their innermost depths.

هَراقت دمي يوم الصُّفيحة إذ بَدتْ

تخاطبني سراً وتَلحظنُي شَزرا

She shed my blood on the day of al-Ṣayfiyya, when she appeared,

Addressing me secretly and glancing askance at me.

وأذكت لظى قلبي وأجرت مدامعي

ولمَّا أجد عنها سُلواً ولا صَبرا

She kindled the blaze within my heart and set my tears flowing,

And I found neither forgetfulness of her nor patience.

وبُحتُ بسرّي في الغرامِ وعادني

هوىّ عذرويّ فاضحٌ يهتك السّترا

I laid bare my secret in love, for I was visited again

By an ‘Udhri passion, an exposer that tears the veil away.

فقلنَ لها أترابُها مُذ رأينَ ما

دهاني منها كي يحُطن بها خُبرا

Her companions said to her, once they saw what

Had befallen me through her, wishing to acquaint her with the news:

قتلتِ لكِ الويلاتُ نفساً زكية

لقد جئتِ شيئاً يا مهاة الِخبا نُكرا

“Woe upon you! You have slain an innocent soul;

You have done a monstrous thing, O gazelle of the curtained tent.”

فقالت ألا أنبأتنيه من الفتى

وما إِسمه فانصعنَ يخبرنها جَهرا

She said, “Will you not tell me of him—who is this young man,

And what is his name?” They complied and told her openly:

ألا إنه مَولى السلاطين كلها

وأشرفُها نفساً وأجزلها فخرا

“Why, he is the master of all sovereigns,

The noblest of them in spirit and the most abundant in glory;

وأبعدُها صيتاً وغَوراً وغاية

وأطهرها عرضاً وأشهرُها ذكرا

The farthest-ranging in fame, depth, and aspiration,

The purest in honor and the most renowned in remembrance;

وأصدقُها قولاً وأبذلها يداً

وأرجُحها عقلاً وأرفعُها قَدراً

The truest in speech and the most open-handed,

The soundest in judgment and the highest in rank;

وأشجعهُا قلباً وأبذخُها عُلىّ

وأكثرها مجداً وأرحبها صدرا

The bravest in heart and the most magnificent in loftiness,

The greatest in glory and the broadest of breast.”

فجاءَت وقالت ما اسمهُ قلنُ ذو الوفا

سليمانُ يعنى البدرَ والبحرَ والدَّهرا

Then she came and asked, “What is his name?” They said, “The faithful one:

Sulayman—by whom are meant the full moon, the sea, and Time itself—

سليلُ سليمانَ ابن نبهانَ فانْثنَت

تَنَّهدُ من حُزنٍ وتستعظمُ الأمرا

A scion of Sulayman ibn Nabhan.” Then she turned away,

Sighing from grief and deeming the matter grave.

وقامَت ودقَّت صَدرها بيمينها

واذَرت دموعاً بلَّت النَّحرَ والصدرا

She rose and struck her breast with her right hand,

And shed tears that drenched her throat and breast.

وقالت ألا وَاحَسرتا وَافضيحتا

لقد جئتُ شيئاً في مليكِ الوَرى إْمرا

She cried, “Alas for my sorrow! Alas for my disgrace!

I have done a dreadful thing against the king of humankind.”

وقالت كُفتينَّ الأسى ما دواُؤهُ

وهل من دواءٍ أو عِلاجِ به يَبرا

She said, “This sorrow has overwhelmed me—what is its cure?

Is there any medicine or treatment by which it may heal?”

فقلنَ لها ما إن لِداء مُتيَّمٍ

سوى الوصل قالت سوف نسأله العذرا

They said, “For the malady of one consumed by love, there is nothing

Except union.” She said, “Then we shall ask his pardon.”

فقالت فَدَتكَ النفسُ يا تاجَ يعربٍ

أقِلني ولا تحمل عليَّ بذا إصرا

She said, “My soul be your ransom, O crown of Ya‘rub;

Forgive me, and do not burden me with this load of guilt.”

ففِئْنا إلى خدْر أنيقٍ ومضجَعِ

عبيقٍ يُعيرُ الرَّوضَ مَن نَشرِه نشرا

So we repaired to an elegant curtained chamber and couch,

So fragrant that their scent could lend the garden perfume.

وظلَّت تمجُّ الخمرَ والشّهدَ في فمي

وتُفرشني اليُمنى وتُلحفني اليُسرى

She kept passing wine and honey from her mouth into mine,

Her right arm lying beneath me as a bed, her left draped over me as a cover.

نلذُّ ونلهو والزمانُ مُساعدٌ

ولم نخشَ بعد الوصلِ صداً ولا هجرا

We savored delight and played while Time was our ally,

And after union feared neither rebuff nor estrangement.

سَقى اللهُ رَسماً بالصُّفيحةِ بالياً

لراية وسَميَّاً يُديم به القَطرا

May God water the weathered trace at al-Ṣafīḥiyya—

Rāya’s trace—with wasmi rain whose drops He keeps forever falling there.