أصبح أيري مُعرضاً عنّي

وكان من قصّتهِ أنّي

Airy became indifferent to me

My member has turned its back on me,

And his story was that

And the story of its treason is that I,

كنتُ بقصرِ الخلد في روضةٍ

بين نخيل الطنّ والبَرني

I was in the palace of immortality, in a garden

Was at the Palace of Khuld, within a garden,

Among palm trees, figs, and pomegranates

Between the Tann and Barni date palms,

خلا لها الوردُ لذي نرجس

معتنقٍ للآسِ في غصنِ

The roses left a space for the narcissus

Where roses secluded themselves with narcissus,

Embracing the myrtle in its branch

Embracing the myrtle upon the bough,

نيطَ بتفّاحٍ إلى مشمشٍ

تخرقه الأنهارُ بالسُفنِ

Covered with apples to apricots

Adorned with apples beside apricots,

Pierced by rivers with ships

Which rivers pierce through with gliding ships.

فمرتعُ الروضةِ نوّارهُ

مختلفُ البهجةِ في الحسنِ

The garden’s meadows had blossoming flowers

The garden's meadow was its very blossoms,

Of varied beauty in their charm

Varied in their splendor and their charm;

من أصفر يرنو إلى أحمرٍ

وأبيض في اللونِ كالقطنِ

From yellow turning to red

From yellow gazing longingly at red,

And white in color like cotton

And white in hue, as pure as cotton.

وبرمكيُّ الحسنِ في حلّةٍ

كأنّهُ من حسنهِ جنّي

And red beauty in a dress

And a Barmakid beauty clad in fine robes,

As if it was picked for its beauty

Seeming, for his beauty, like a spirit from the Jinn,

ظلّ يسقي الشربَ من قهوةٍ

ناصعةٍ في صبغة الدهن

It remained watering the drinking

Kept pouring wine for the drinkers there,

With shining coffee dyed with grease

Pure and glistening like golden oil,

حتى إذا الفجر حدا بالدجا

ودارت القهوة في قَرني

Until dawn broke with first light

Until when dawn began to drive the dark,

And the coffee pot spun in the urn

And the wine swirled within my head,

وصاحبُ الفرحةِ مستوفزٌ

لحيث ما يبلغهُ عنّي

And the joyous friend was eager

And the master of joy sat poised and ready,

To wherever my news would reach him

For whatever he might receive from me,

قلتُ لأيري حين أبصرتهُ

تدمعُ عيناه من الحزنِ

I said to Airy when I saw him

I said to my member when I saw him,

With teary eyes of sadness

With his eyes flowing with tears of sorrow:

إنكَ إن قصرتَ عمّا أرى

بتّ سخين العين ذا غَبنٍ

“If you fall short of what I see

"If you fall short of what I see before me,

I will remain hot-eyed with loss”

You shall spend the night weeping in total loss."

فخرَّ يدنو نحوه مطرقاً

ونور معمورٍ إلى الرهن

So he fell, drawing near, downcast

So he leaned toward him, bowing his head,

And a populated light to the pledge

Surrendering like a pledge redeemed,

حتى توفّاه رسولُ الكرى

فأطبقَ الجفنَ على الجفنِ

Until the messenger of fate took him

Until the messenger of slumber claimed his soul,

And closed the eyelid over the eyelid

And he closed eyelid upon eyelid tight.

فلم أزل أصبر حتى إذا

مالَ على الجنبِ من الوهنِ

I remained patient until when

I waited with patience, until the moment

He leaned on the side from weakness

He tilted onto his side from weariness,

دببتُ كالعقربِ جنبيّةٌ

وتارةً أحبو على بطني

I crept like a scorpion, sideways

Then I crept sideways like a scorpion,

And at times I coiled on my belly

And at times crawling upon my belly,

قصداً إليه فتبطّنتُ ما

حوى السراويل إلى المتنِ

Heading towards him, so I went underneath

Aiming for him, I burrowed beneath

What the pants contained to the waist

What his trousers held, up to the waist.

فكان من وجدي به أنني

أخطأتُ مجرى الرمح في الطعنِ

And it happened when I found him that

But such was my frantic passion for him,

I missed the path of the spear in the stab

That I missed the spear's true path in the thrust.

وحسَّ بالدسرة في ظهرهِ

فقام كالحيران من جُبني

And he felt the rip in his back

He felt the sudden prod against his back,

So he got up confused by my cowardice

And rose like a bewildered man in shock,

حتى علاني وأنا تحته

أدعو على الحرمات باللعنِ

Until he exposed me while I was under him

Until he towered over me, pinning me down,

Calling down curses on the sanctities

While I cursed all sacred things in shame,

مُندّي الجبهةِ من بعد أن

أفلتّ منه صفدي الأذنِ

With forehead uncovered after

My forehead dripping sweat, after I had

I slipped from him, my ears in shackles

Barely escaped the boxing of my ears.

ثم رمى وجهي بتفاحةٍ

لم يخطِها لمّا رمّى سنّي

Then he threw an apple in my face

Then he hurled an apple at my face,

That his teeth did not bite when he threw them at me

Which did not miss its mark, striking my tooth.

فرحتُ محروماً بلا حاجةٍ

وقام أيري ضاحكاً منّي

I left deprived without need

So I departed deprived, my need unmet,

And Airy laughed at me

While my member rose up to laugh at me,

يقول والذَنبُ له كلّهُ

كذاكَ من يعمل بالظنِّ

Saying, “The blame is all his

Saying—though the fault was entirely his—

Thus is one who acts on suspicion”

"This is the fate of one who acts on guessing."