أَرى في غَزالِ الدَوَ مِنهُ شَمائِلاً

فَأَهفو إِلَيهِ كُلَّما مَرَّ سانِحَهُ

I see in the gazelle of the valley, traits

So I yearn for him whenever his easy goingness passes.

وَتَخطُرُ قُضبانُ العَذيبِ فَتَنثَني

مَعاطِفُهُ في خاطِري وَجَوانِحُهُ

The twigs of the limber tree sway and so do

His robes in my mind and his features.

أَكادَ لَمَرأى كُلِّ غُصنٍ أَراكَةٍ

أُعانِقهُ مِن أَجلِهِ وَأُصافِحُهُ

I almost embrace every bending branch

For his sake, and shake its hand,

وَأَعشَقُ نورَ البَدرِ لَيلَةَ تَمِّهِ

لِأَن قَد بَدَت مِنهُ عَلَيهِ مَلامِحَهُ

And love the light of the full moon on the night it is complete

For his traits have appeared in it from him.

يَقولُ عَذولي شَفَّ مِسكَتَكَ الهَوى

فَأَنتَ لَعَمري ذاهِبُ الفِكرِ سائِحُهُ

My companion said, your love has made you silent

You are lost in thought, its wanderer.

فَقُلتُ جَميعَ الرُشدِ في سُبُلِ حُبِّهِ

إِذا لااحَ لي مِن ذاكَ الوَجهُ لائِحُهُ

So I said, all decency is in following his love

If his face smiles at me, its morning light.

وَقالوا أَضَعتُ العُمرَ في حُبِّ أَغيَدَ

وَمِن عَلِقَ الغِزلانَ ضاعَت مَصالِحُهُ

And they said, you have wasted your life in loving the slender one

And because you were occupied with the gazelles, your interests were lost.

فَقُلتُ لَهُم يا حَبَّذا ما أَضَعتُهُ

بِمَن حَبَّهُ كَنزٌ تَنوءُ مَفاتِحَهُ

So I said to them, how excellent is what I have spent

On one whose love is a treasure whose keys are burdensome.

فِدا كُلِّ ظَبيٍ بَينَ سَلعٍ وَحاجِرٍ

لِمُهجَةَ ظَبيٍ في الفُؤادِ مَسارِحَهُ

I ransom every gazelle between plain and rock

For the fondness of a gazelle in the heart is its playground.

وَمَهما يُعَذِّبَني فَعَذبُ مَذاقِهِ

وَمَهما يُؤرِقُني فَإِنّي مُسامِحُهُ

And no matter how he tortures me, his torture is sweet

And no matter how he deprives me of sleep, I pardon him.

وَما أَسعَدَ اللَيلُ الَّذي أَنا ساهِرُهُ

وَما أُقَدِّسُ الدَمعَ الَّذي أَنا سافِحُهُ

How joyous is the night whose vigil I keep

And how holy are the tears that I shed.

وَقالوا قَطَعتُ الأَربَعينَ فَما الهَوى

وَقَد صاحَ في فوديكَ لِلشَبيبِ صائِحُهُ

And they said, you have crossed forty years yet passion

Has cried out loudly inside you, to youth its caller.

وَلَم يَعلَموا أَنَّ المَهارَ وَإِن زَكَت

لَتَعجَزَ عَمّا طالَ في الجَريِ قارِحُهُ

And they did not know that the expert, though aged

Is unmatched by the long traveling assailant.

بَلى أَنا سُلطانُ الغَرامِ وَهَذِهِ

صَحائِفُهُ في راحَتي وَصَفائِحُهُ

Yes, I am the sultan of love, and here

Are its pages in my care and its booklets.

إِذا في كِتابِ الحُبِّ طالِعٌ مُغرَمٌ

فَقَلبي مُمليهِ وَدَمعي شارِحُهُ

If in the book of love an enamored reader

My heart has dictated it and my tears have edited it.

أَنا الصَبُّ مَتبولاً بِذِكرِ حَبيبِهِ

وَشَرطَ المُعَنّى أَن تَغيبَ جَوارِحُهُ

I am the youth infatuated with his beloved’s mention

And its meaning’s condition is the absence of senses.

خَلِيٌّ إِذا رامَ الصَلاةَ تَداخَلَت

تَحِيّاتُهُ مَعَ ذِكرِهِ وَفَواتِحُهُ

Empty when he wanted to pray, his greetings

Intermingled with his remembrance and its initiations.