لِضَوءِ بَرقٍ ظَلَلتَ مُكتَإِباً

شَقَّ سَناهُ في الجَوِّ وَاِلتَهَبا

The lightning's gleam saddened you, gloomy one,

At the flash of lightning, you remained cast in gloom, / As its brilliance cleaved the air and blazed into flame.

It cracked through the air in flames.

It flickers through the laughing teeth of the clouds, / Driven by two winds, the North and the East.

يومِضُ في ضاحِكِ النَواجِذِ مَحـ

ـذُوٌّ بِريحَينِ شَمأَلٍ وَصَبا

It flashes in the cheeks of laughing companions

Upon the horizon, it hung its heavy burden, / And dragged its trailing hem across the high hills.

Awestruck by the winds of youth and morning.

And a mourner stirred among the boughs at mid-morning, / Calling to one drunk with sleep who turned at the dawn.

نَوَّطَ في الأُفقِ عِبءَ فُرَّقِهِ

وَجَرَّ مِنهُ عَلى الرُبا ذَنَبا

It cast its burden upon the horizon

Invoking a memory by name for the sake of a passion, / Reminding him of a time that was succulent and green.

And dragged its tail over the dunes.

So I spent the night like a stranger in his own land, / Crying out, "Alas for me! Alas for the sorrow!"

وَنائِحٍ هَبَّ في الغُصونِ ضُحىً

لِمُنتَشٍ مَوهِناً إِذا اِنقَلَبا

A mourner wailed at dawn in the branches

With the collar of my shirt torn open, / Casting dust upon my head with a heavy hand.

Feeble when overturned.

Until, when he had reached the limit of his grief, / And fulfilled the deep longing within his soul,

يَدعو بِذِكرٍ عَلى اِسمِهِ لِهَوىً

يُذكِرُهُ في زَمانِهِ الرَطَبا

It calls a beloved's name to mind

He leaned the weight of his back against a support, / Clinging to patience, seeking solace in restraint.

Remembered in its moist season.

And a company of youths, untouched by dispute, / Pure in their deeds together, and noble in line.

فَبِتُّ مِثلَ المُقيمِ مُغتَرِباً

يَدعو بِواوَيلَتا وَواحَرَبا

So I sleep like an exile, calling out

Raised upon refinement like opened vessels of musk, / Shared freely among them, taken in turn and seized.

With wails and cries of distress.

Moving among them with the cup is one adorned with pearls, / To whom the desert gazelle has gifted its grace.

مُنقَدَّ جَيبِ القَميصِ يَحثو عَلى الـ

ـرَأسِ مَلِيّاً بِكَفِّهِ التُرُبا

I reach into my torn shirt, grabbing

From a standing vessel whose mouth was sealed tight, / Pouring out liquid gold that settles in the cup.

Dust onto my head with my hand.

A vintage tart and radiant, shining bright, / Where bubbles rise and dance when mixed with water.

حَتّى إِذا ما اِنتَهى لِغايَتِهِ

ثَمَّ وَأَمضى في نَفسِهِ أَرَبا

Until when I attain my goal

Following one another; as the first creeps forward, / It paves the way for the next to follow in its track.

And fulfill my purpose,

They spoke, reproaching me for shunning the cup, / And for killing the joy with the spread of my grief.

أَلجا قِوى ظَهرِهِ إِلى سَنَدٍ

مُعتَصِماً بِالعَزاءِ مُحتَسِبا

I rely for solace on the strength

"What ails you? What calamity has struck? Woe to you! / What has seized you, that you sit alone in gloom?"

Of my back, resigned to fate.

"You have scooped up deep drafts of sorrow and despair, / And gathered all anguish and heartache to yourself."

وَفِتيَةٍ لا الميراءُ يَشمُلُهُم

زَكَوا فَعالاً مَعاً وَمُنتَسَبا

Noble youths reproach does not touch-

"You have been struck by the bow of every misfortune, / That shot you one day with arrows from close range."

Righteous, acting and related.

"Is it because that fawn has shunned you—the one / Whose true name is forgotten since he bore his title?"

شَبّوا عَلى أُدبَةٍ كَأَصوِرَةِ الـ

ـمِسكِ مُباحاً تَترى وَمُنتَهَبا

They grew on gentle manners like the scent

"Has your endurance cast you into depression, / Into longing, the strain of trial, and fatigue?"

Of musk, permitted and emanating.

And a congenial companion whose company I never tire of, / Rose at the appointed time, preparing to depart.

يَسعى عَلَيهِم بِالكَأسِ ذو نُطَفٍ

أَحذاهُ ظَبيُ الصَريمَةِ اللَبَبا

One with dangling locks serves them drink,

I chose to spare my prudence from all blame / For my heart's desire, so I embraced the pain.

Snatching with his mouth the dripping cups.

So he went his way—may well-being never fail him— / While my eyes spent the night estranged from his sight.

مِن ماثِلٍ فُدِّمَت مَضاحِكُهُ

يَقلِصُ في الكَأسِ بَينَنا الذَهَبا

From red wine whose laughs are stained

He pinches the gold between us in the cup.

مِن قَهوَةٍ مُزَّةٍ مُشَعشَعَةٍ

تَرى لَها عِندَ مَزجِها حَبَبا

From fragrant, scintillating coffee

You see as it's mixed beloved grains.

مَعاً وَتَترى إِذا حَبا أَوَّلٌ

مِنهُنَّ وَطّا لِئاخَرٍ فَحَبا

Together, and the first loves to glance

At the last's loving glance.

قالوا وَقَد أَنكَروا مُراوَغَتي الـ

ـكَأسِ وَقَتلي بِبَثِّيَ الطَرَبا

They said, denying my evasion of the cup

And my killing them with my music,

ما لَكَ أَم ما دَهاكَ وَيلُكَ ما

غالَكَ حَتّى اِنفَرَدتَ مُكتَإِبا

"What's wrong with you? What possessed you, woe to you,

To make you so gloomy and alone?"

قَدِ اِغتَرَفتَ الهُمومَ وَالبَثَّ وَالـ

ـوَجدَ وَهُزتَ الأَحزانَ وَالكُرَبا

You've indulged in worries, distress and ecstasy,

Stirred sorrows and troubles,

رُميتَ عَن قَوسِ كُلِّ فادِحَةٍ

رَمَتكَ يَوماً بِنَبلِها كَثَبا

Cast off the bow of every calamity

That struck you one day with its arrows.

أَإِن جَفاكَ الرَشا الَّذي نَسِيَ الـ

ـناسُ اِسمَهُ مُنذُ لُقِّبَ اللَقَبا

Did the mercy that people forgot its name

Since it was titled abandon you?

أَرذاكَ مَجلودُكَ الكَآبَةَ وَالـ

ـشَوقَ وَجُهدَ البَلاءِ وَالنَصَبا

Or did your whipped heart's sadness and longing

And the toil of affliction and trouble?

وَآنِسٍ لا أَمَلُّ مَجلِسَهُ

قامَ لِوَقتٍ دَنا لِيَنقَلِبا

A companion whose gathering I do not hope

Will stand for a time and turn to leave.

آثَرتُ أَن لا يُلامَ حِلمي عَلى

لَذَّةِ قَلبي فَاِستَشعَرَ الوَصَبا

I preferred that my patience not be blamed

For the joy of my heart, so it perceived anguish.

فَراحَ لا عَطَّلَتهُ عافِيَةٌ

وَباتَ طَرفي مِن طَرفِهِ جُنُبا

So he left while wellness did not detain him,

And my eye remained beside his.