لَقَد كُنتُ وَما في النا

سِ مِنّي لِلهَوى أَستَر

I was not inclined to passion before

I was—and none among the throng

Nor content with less than my fill of play and jest

Was more discreet with love than I;

وَلا أَقنَعُ بِالدونِ

عَلى اللَهوِ وَلا أَصبِر

But when they revealed my secret

Refusing baseness in delight,

Long hidden though it was

And unable to endure the wait.

فَلَمّا أَظهَروا أَمري

وَقَدماً كانَ لا يَظهَر

And blamed me for it, from first to last

But when they brought my case to light,

I took courage and openly declared

Which formerly had been unshown,

وَأَغروا بي تَأنيباً

مِنَ المُقبِلِ وَالمُدبِر

My passion - no, by God! -

And stirred up censure against me

I did not, no! hold back

From those who come and those who go,

تَجاسَرتُ فَأَقدَمتُ

عَلى كَشفِ الهَوى المُضمَر

What I hid is now spread far and wide

I gathered courage and stepped forth

And what I feared has come to pass

To uncover love that lay concealed.

وَلا وَاللَهِ لا وَاللَ

هِ لا وَاللَهِ لا أَقصِر

No, by God! No, by God!

No, by God, I will not yield!

وَقَد شاعَ الَّذي أُخفي

وَقَد كانَ الَّذي أَحذَر

For what I hid has spread abroad,

And what I feared has come to pass.