يا مَن رآني في الكرى زعَماً

وكأنّني أشتدّ في أثره

O you who saw me in the caravan as if

O you who envisioned me in slumber—a phantom claim,

I ardently pursued its trail,

As though I were rushing hard upon his trail,

فعلقتُ منهُ وقد لحقتُ به

غصناً يمجُ المسكَ من شعرِه

So I clung to a bough from it that exuded

So I clung to him, having overtaken him,

The scent of musk from its hair,

A supple branch that scatters musk from his hair,

فهصرتهُ والبُهرُ كان بهِ

حتى إذا سكنتُ من بُهرِه

I inhaled its fragrance and was dazzled

I drew him down toward me while he was breathless,

Until, when I recovered from the daze,

Until, when I had quieted his panting,

قلت الفراش فمرّ يقدمُني

يرتج منه مكانُ مؤتزره

I said to the butterfly, "Lead me on,"

I spoke of the bed, and he walked on before me,

It fluttered from the knot of its waist-wrap,

The place of his waist-wrapper quivering as he moved,

فقضيتُ منه في الكرى وطري

فصرتُ لم أبلغ مدى وطره

So in the caravan I accomplished my want

So I fulfilled my desire with him in the slumber,

And returned no longer seeking its track,

Yet I remained as one who had not reached the end of wanting,

حتى إذا ما النوم زايلهُ

وصحا أخو الفَشيان من سكرِه

Until when sleep was leaving its companion

Until, when sleep departed from him,

And the fellow of libertines awoke from his drunkenness

And the swooning one recovered from his intoxication,

ردّ الرقادُ عليه ثم هدا

نوم الغزالِ أوى إلى سحرِه

Slumber returned to him, then it guided

Sleep returned to him, and then he settled,

The sleep of a gazelle to its brink,

The sleep of a gazelle retreating to its shelter at dawn,

يا ليتَ طرفي كان وافقَهُ

في النوم مجرى في ندى بشرِه

Oh would that my eyes had coincided with it

Oh, would that my eye had coincided with him,

In sleep, following the dew of its cheeks,

In sleep, tracing a course upon the dew of his skin,

يبغي مواصلتي فيمنعهُ

بيضٌ كأسدِ الغابِ من ثغره

Seeking union with me, but prevented

He seeks my union, yet he is prevented by

By a whiteness, like a lion's mouth in its fierceness.

Pearly whites, like forest lions, guarding his mouth