وزَوْرٍ زارني واللَّيلُ داجٍ

فعلّلني بباطله وولّى

A liar came to me as the night grew dark,

Giving me false excuses before turning away.

سقاني ريقَهَ مَن كنت دهراً

مَذوداً عن مراشفه مُحَلّا

He let me taste his saliva, after I had

Long been denied his pillow, rejected.

وأولى فوق ما أهواه منه

وما يدري بما أعطى وأولى

Yet he claimed more than what he wished from me,

Not knowing what he gave, nor what he denied.

وأرخص قربَه باللّيل مَن لو

سألنا قربه بالصّبحِ أغلى

He made being close to him cheap in the night,

When being close in the dawn would have cost dearer.

نعمنا بالحبيب دجىً فلمّا

تولّى واِضمحلّ لنا اِضمحلّا

We acquiesced to the lover in the dark, but when

He turned from us, we turned from him, equally.

فإِنْ يك باطلاً فسقيم حبٍّ

أفاقَ به قليلاً أو أبَلّا

If it is false, this sickly love

That made me rave a little, or go mad,

تلاقٍ لا نخاف ولا نبالي

بمن أوحى به وعليه دلّا

It is a union we neither fear nor care for

Who inspired it, and upon it set his seal.

ولو أنّ الصَباحَ يُطيع أمري

لما كشف الظّلامَ ولا تجلّى

If only the dawn would obey my command,

It would not unveil the darkness, nor shed its light.