رأينا بوادي الرِّمثِ ظَبْيَ صريمةٍ

فصاد قلوباً لم يصِدْهنَّ صائدُ

We saw in the valley of Rimth a roaming gazelle,

So it captured hearts that no hunter could capture.

تَقلّد حُسناً زانهُ في قُلوبنا

وَأَعيننا ما لم تزنهُ القلائدُ

It wore beauty that adorned it in our hearts,

And our eyes never adorned it with necklaces.

وَلمّا طلبنا الوصلَ لم يكُ وصْلهُ

لطالبهِ إلّا السُّها والفراقدُ

And when we sought union with it, its union

Was not for its seeker, except wakefulness and parting.

وَما ثغرُهُ إلّا حَصىً من غمامةٍ

وَما فَرعه في العينِ إلّا أساودُ

Its mouth was nothing but pebbles from a cloud,

And its branches in the eye were nothing but darkness.

وَقالوا لِقَلبي خَلِّ عنهُ وَقارَه

وَما قادَه إلّا الصَّبابةُ قائدُ

And they said to my heart, "Stop longing for it and its dignity,"

Yet nothing led it except passionate love, its guide.

وَما يَلتَقي سالٍ وَصبٌّ إذا اِستوى

فَتىً غيرُ ذِي وَجْدٍ وَمَنْ هو واجدُ

The ardently in love and the indifferent never meet,

Except a love-struck lad, and one who is smitten.