لو شاءَ بَلّ بها ذُيولَ الحِندِسِ

واعتاضَها من صُبحهِ المتنفّسِ

If only he had adorned it with the skirts of Hindustan

And fragranced it with the scent of his sigh at dawn,

لكنه جحدَ الغرامَ وخاف أن

يوحي إليك بها لسانُ الأكؤُسِ

But he denied love and feared that the tongue of the goblet

Would reveal it to you - so keep its helplessness with you,

فاحبِسْ أعنَّتَها لديكَ فحسبُه

طرْفٌ عنانُ دموعِه لم يُحبَسِ

For it is enough for him that his overflowing tears

Were not contained, like a loosened bridle.

بين الحُميّا والمُحيّا نسبةٌ

أوَ لستَ تسمعُ بالنهارِ المُشمِسِ

There is a link between the living and the dead,

Do you not hear it in the bright daylight?

أذكرْتُه الزمنَ القديمَ وإنما

أذكرتُه الزمن القديم وما نَسي

I remembered the olden days, and yet

I remembered the olden days and did not forget.

دهرٌ كأنّ صباحَه ومساءهُ

يتنازعانِ صفاتِ أشْنَبَ ألْعَسِ

It was an age whose morning and evening

Vied over the attributes of a hare-lipped elf.

لطمَ الشقيقُ عليه صفحةَ خدّهِ

وأفاضَ دمعَ الطّلّ طَرْفَ النرجِسِ

Sorrow slapped his cheek

And a narcissus tear flowed from his eye.

حتى إذا أفلت نجوم كماله

والتف صبح كؤوسه بالحندسِ

Until the stars of his perfection set

And the cups of his morning melted into Hindustan,

أدِمِ الغرامَ فإن بكيت فإنما

هذي الدموع حَبابُ تلك الأكؤسِ

Keep up love, for if you cry,

These tears are the bubbles of those goblets.

ولقدْ قدَحْتَ زِنادَ شوقٍ طالما

أورى شَرارَ المَدْمَع المتبجّسِ

And you have often ignited a spark of yearning

That kindled the glowing embers of weeping eyes,