دعانيَ من ذكر العذيبِ وعهدهِ

فإنَّ الصّبا تلقى فوادي بوجودهِ

He called me from the memory of passion and its covenant

For youth meets my innards through its existence

إذا ما تهادى بعد وهنٍ نسيمها

تحدَّث عن بان الكثيب ورنده

When its breeze blows gently after weakness

It talks of the sand dunes and their meadows

حنينٌ كصرفِ البابليّ إلى الحمى

يزيد به سكراً تقادمُ عهده

A yearning like a Babylonian towards fever

Increasing its intoxication with the passage of time

وشوقٌ يبيح الدمع ذكرى غصونه

ويسطو على هزل الغرام بجدِّه

And a longing that permits tears to flow with the memory of its branches

And prevails over the jest of passion with its solemnity

وقد وعد البين المشتُّ بسلوةٍ

ومن لي بأنَّ البين منجز وعده

And separation promised consolation

But who can guarantee that separation keeps its promise

وبي زائرٌ تكبو المنى دون وصله

ويعثر جاري الدمع في ذيل صدِّه

While a visitor whose wishes are thwarted by union

And the tear stream stumbles on its trail

حمى طرفهُ عن مقلتي بجفونهِ

ولم أدر أنَّ السيف يحمى بغمده

Its gaze guarded my eyes with its eyelids

And I did not know that the sword protects with its sheath

فلو كنتَ إذ أبكي ويبسم ثغره

تعجَّبت من مثلينِ دمعي وعقده

If when I wept and its lips smiled

You were amazed at my tears and its solemnity

وتاللهِ ما أبكى ويبسم ثغره

ولكنني أبكي لرَّقة خدّه

By God, I do not weep while its lips smile

But I weep for the softness of its cheek

فيا سارحاً فيه سوامَ لحاظهِ

حدارِ فخرصان القنا شوكُ ورده

O you who the horses of its vision roam

The roses' thorns are buttery and their flowers are meadows

وما يصنع الحيُّ الخفاجيُّ بالقنا

وقد طاعنوا صيد الكماةِ بقدِّه

What can the lively and agile do with spears

When they have wounded the prey of arrows with its points

لجفنيه حرب بين قلبي وصبره

مقيمٌ وسلم بين جفني وسهده

Between its eyes and my heart there is war and its patience a truce

There is peace between my eyes and its slumber

يخبّر عن إثم السلاف لثامه

وتشهد أطراف الأراك بشهده

Its scarf tells of the sins of those passed

And the ends of the litters testify with its testimony

أيا ساكني ظلِّ العقيق من الحمى

تحيَّةَ صبٍ حائمٍ دون وردهِ

O residents of the carnelian's shadow

The greeting of a morning without its roses

منحتم فؤادي إذا سألتم بغيه

فهلاّ سمحتم إذ منعتم برشده

You gave my heart what it desired when asked

Why then did you refuse when it was guided by virtue?

وما جزعي للبرق سلَّ حسامهُ

بنانُ الحيا حتى قتلتُ بحدِّه

And I do not despair that its lightning drew its sword

The lives of men until I was killed by its blade

وكنتُ إذا خلٌّ تنكّر ودَّه

نأيتُ وبعضُ النأي أبقى لودهِ

And I when the beloved was unfaithful to his affection

I avoided him though avoidance cannot cure the beloved

وما هجرَ الأوطان من وصل السّرى

إلى نائلِ الملكِ العزيزِ ورفده

And he who attained the company of the elite

To the lord of mighty kingdom and its aid did not abandon homelands