لَم أَنسَ لَيلَةَ رُعتُ سِربَكَ زائِراً

فَكَأَنَّما رَوَّعتُ فيها جُؤذُرا

I shall not forget the night I visited your flock

As though I had startled a partridge-covey there.

فَأَقَمتُ عِطفاً أَزوَراً وَجَلَوتَ وَجهاً

أَزهَراً وَأَدَرتَ طَرفاً أَحوَرا

I stood leaning, visiting, a flowering branch,

Your face blossoming, your glance askance.

وَضَفا رِداءٌ مِن شَبابِكَ أَبيَضٌ

وَلَرُبَّما اِعتَرَضَ الحَياءُ فَعَصفَرا

A robe of your youth's down clad you white;

Now and then modesty's wind whipped up pink.

وَبدا هِلالٌ في نِقابِكِ طالِعٌ

وَلَرُبَّما اِنحَدَرَ النِقابُ فَأَقمَرا

A crescent gleamed from your veil's horizon

As down your veil drifted moonlight pure.

وَجَنَيتُ رَوضاً في قِناعِكَ أَزهَرا

وَقَضيبَ بانٍ في وِشاحِكَ أَثمَرا

From behind your veil I plucked a garden blooming,

A fruiting branch from your mantle, clustering.

ثُمَّ اِنثَنَيتُ وَقَد لَبِستُ مُصَندَلاً

وَطَوَيتُ مِن خِلَعِ الظَلامِ مُعَنبَرا

Then I stooped, wearing clogs, enveloped

In the cloak of darkness, a-muffling.

وَالصُبحُ مَحطوطُ النِقابِ قَدِ اِحتَبى

في شَملَةٍ وَرسِيَّةٍ فَتَأَزَّرا

Dawn of the trailing veil, swathed, lay unsleeping,

Embraced in a gown and mantle, self-shrouding.