يا عَذبةَ الوَصْلِ والصدودِ ويا

أَعْبَقَ ثَغْراً مِن ابنةِ الدَّنِّ

O gentle union and repulsion, and O

The sweetest mouth of the daughter of lowliness

و لم أَذُقْه ولا سَمِعتُ بمَنْ

ذاقَ ولكِنّه كذا ظَنِّي

I have not tasted it nor heard of one

Who has, but such is my guess

بَلىَ تعشَّقتُها بِلا حرَجٍ

كان وقبّلتُها ولا أَكْني

Yes, I fell in love with her without shyness

As if I had kissed her, though I did not

ولم تكن قبْلتي موافَقةً

بل خِلْسةً نِلتُها بِلا إِذنِ

My kiss was not with her consent

Rather I stole it from her secretly without permission

يا دَجْنَ ليلٍ بدا على قَمَرٍ

وبدرَ تِمٍّ يغيب في دَجْنِ

O dark night that appeared over a moon

And a full moon that sets into darkness

وغصنَ بانٍ يميس فوقَ نقاً

أعجِبْ بِهِ من نقا ومِن غُصْنِ

And a branch bending over a soft sand dune

More wondrous than the dune or the branch

يا حَسَناً كامِلَ الصّفاتِ إِذا

لَم يُضْحِ خَلْقٌ بِكامِلِ الحُسْنِ

O perfect beauty, when

No creature matches perfect beauty

حَسْبُك حُسْنٌ غدت بدائِعهُ

أوسعَ مِن فِطنتي ومِن ذِهْني

Your beauty alone, whose wonders

Are broader than my wit and mind

كم ذا التجنِّي عليَّ ظالمةً

وكم على حَتْفِ مهجتي أَجْني

How much wronging me unjustly

And how much anguish for my love

أتَسْتَحِّلين في الجفا سَقَمي

أم تستَطيبِين في الهوى غَبْني

Do you make lawful in your disdain my sickness

Or do you enjoy in passion my loss

مالَك لا تَهدِمِين مُنعِمةً

مِن ظُلْمِكِ المستِطيل ما يَبْني

Why do you not destroy me with kindness

From your oppressive wrong that does not build

وَيْلاه وَيلاه يا ظَلومُ أما

يكفِيك ما قد سلبِتِه مِنّي

Woe, woe to you oppressor, is it not enough

What you have already taken from me

تَلوُّنا في الهوى ومَعْتِبةً

كذاك حَقّاً تلوُّنُ الجنِّ

We varied in love and blame

So in truth vary the Jinn

مُنِّي ولو بالسّلامِ منعِمةً

ثم اخِلطي ما مَنَنْت بالمَنِّ

Grant me a greeting of kindness

Then mix what you granted with reproach