طُموحُ العَينِ وَالنَظَرِ

مُباحٌ لي وَلِلبَشَرِ

The ambition of the eye and sight

The longing of the eye and the wandering gaze

Is permissible for me and humankind

Is permitted to me and to all mankind,

فَقَلبي غَيرُ مُصطَبِرٍ

وَعَنهُ غَيرُ مُزدَجَرِ

Yet my heart is impatient

But my heart remains devoid of patience,

And from it, not deterred

And cannot be deterred from its desire.

وَيُعجِبُني وَجيفُ الكا

سِ بَينَ النايِ وَالوَتَرِ

And I'm drawn to a body laid bare

I delight in the trembling of the cup

Between flute and lute's string

Amidst the reed-flute and the sounding string;

نَرى جُثمانَها مَعَنا

وَرَيّاها عَلى سَفَرِ

We see its corpse among us

We see its body resting here with us,

And its mirage upon travel

While its fragrance is away on a journey.