أنتَ ماذا دهاكَ قل لي حتَّى
بِك ذَرعا قد ضَاق رحبُ الفضَاء
What has befallen you? Tell me—how is it that
even the breadth of space grew too strait to bear you,
وملأتَ الدنيا صُرَاخا وَواصَل
تَ طويلَ الأنين من غَيرِ داء
and you filled the world with cries and kept
up your long moaning, though you suffer no illness?
أنتَ لو كنتَ في الحقيقةِ صبّاً
بكَ ما تدَّعي من البُرحَاء
Had you truly been a lover,
afflicted by the torment you claim,
ما اختفَى من هَوِيتَ طرفة عينٍ
عنكَ في الأرضِ غاصَ أو في السَّماء
the one you loved would not vanish for the blink of an eye
from you—though he plunged into earth or heaven.
خلِّ عنكَ الهَوى لأهلهِ من هُم
لظباء ظلالها في اقتفاءِ
Leave love to those fit for it, who
trail gazelles as closely as their shadows.
أو تبكي إذ أنَّ بَدرَ الدَّياجي
عنك ناءٍ وليسَ عنِّي بنَاء
Or do you weep because the full moon of the dark nights
is far from you, though not far from me?
كُلمَا قد دنوتُ منهُ قليلاً
صبغَ الوجهَ منهُ لونُ الحيَاء
Whenever I drew a little nearer to him,
bashfulness dyed his face its own color.
وحكت حالنا رؤوسُ غُصُونٍ
في تدانيها تارةً وتَنَاء
The heads of branches mirrored our condition,
now drawing close, now drifting apart.
وشَحاريرُها تغنِّي ولكن
في غنىً نحنُ عن سمَاع الغِناء
Their blackbirds sang, yet
we had no need to hear the song.
قُلتُ غَابَ الرقيبُ يا كلَّ سُؤلي
قالَ يا حسنَ غيبةِ الرُّقبَاء
I said, “The watcher is gone, O all my desire!”
He said, “How lovely the watchers’ absence!”
قلتُ مَا لي أرَاك عنِّي بعيدا
قال بل في امتزاجِ راحٍ بمَاء
I said, “Why do I see you far from me?”
He said, “No—we are wine commingled with water.”
قلتُ ما لي نَبَذتُ كلَّ وقارٍ
قال لي تِلكَ عادةُ الشُّعرَاء
I said, “How have I cast aside every shred of reserve?”
He told me, “Such is the custom of poets.”
فَتراجَعتُ من حَيائي ولكِن
لم أجدني في رَجعَةٍ للورَاء
I drew back then, out of modesty; but
I could not find it in me to retreat.
ذاكَ ما قد جَرى وما سوفَ يَجري
بينَنا في صفاء جوِّ الولاء
That is what has happened, and what shall happen
between us, beneath the clear sky of devotion:
اجتمعنا على لقاءِ وُعودٍ
وافترقَنا على وعُودِ لقَاء
we came together for a promised meeting,
and parted with promises of meeting again.
