وَبِكرِ سُلافَةٍ في قَعرِ دَنٍّ

لَها دِرعانِ مِن قارٍ وَطينِ

In the deep valley at dawn's first light

And a virgin vintage lying deep within a cask,

Two coats of resin and clay she wears

Protected by two coats of armor, pitch and clay.

تَحَكَّمَ عِلجُها إِذ قُلتُ سُمني

عَلى غَيرِ البَخيلِ وَلا الضَنينِ

I tended to her wound when asked to treat

Its foreign keeper drove a hard bargain when I said, "Name your price,"

Neither miserly nor begrudging my cares

Dealing with one neither miserly nor stingy.

شَكَكتُ بُزالَها وَاللَيلُ داجٍ

فَدَرَّت دِرَّةَ الوَدَجِ الطَعينِ

I doubted her recovery in the dark night

I pierced its seal while the night was dark,

She shed a tear in the gloom so bright

And it gushed forth like the stream of a stabbed jugular.

بِكَفِّ أَغَنَّ مُختَضِبٍ بَناناً

مُذالِ الصَدغِ مَضفورِ القُرونِ

With a wave of his perfumed hand so slight

Served by the hand of a soft-voiced lad with henna-dyed fingertips,

The young man with the soft cheeks did alight

With dangling sidelocks and hair in braided plaits.

لَنا مِنهُ بِعَينَيهِ عِداتٌ

يُخاطِبُنا بِها كَسرُ الجُفونِ

His eyes afford us untold pleasures

In his eyes, we find promises intended for us,

Though languid and demure are their measures

Addressed to us by the languid folding of his lids.

كَأَنَّ الشَمسَ مُقبِلَةٌ عَلَينا

تَمَشّى في قَلائِدِ ياسَمينِ

As though the sun walked amidst garlands of jasmine

It is as if the sun itself were advancing toward us,

Approaching us with a gait so feminine

Walking amidst necklaces of jasmine.

أَقولُ لِناقَتي إِذ بَلَغَتني

لَقَد أَصبَحتِ عِندي بِاليَمينِ

To my she-camel I then whispered at dawn

I say to my she-camel, now that she has delivered me:

You have gained standing highly favored this morn

"You have secured with me a solemn pledge of safety.

فَلَم أَجعَلكِ لِلقُربانِ نَحراً

وَلا قُلتُ اِشرَقي بِدَمِ الوَتينِ

Not for ritual sacrifice made I you bleed

I have not made you a slaughtered offering for sacrifice,

Nor bid you shine with blood of the vain steed

Nor said, 'Choke on the blood of your heart\'s vein.'

حَرُمتِ عَلى الأَزِمَّةِ وَالوَلايا

وَأَعلاقِ الرِحالَةِ وَالوَضينِ

I spared you the burden of far desert sands

You are forbidden henceforth to reins and saddle-pads,

And waterless wastes of the wandering bands

And to the trappings of the mount and the girth."