لا والتفاتِ الظباءِ بالمُقلِ

وطيبِ غصنِ الخدودِ بالقُبَل

Not the backs of graceful gazelles,

Nay, by the gazelles' glance as they turn their eyes,

Nor the cheeks' sweet rose branches and kisses,

And the sweet branch of the cheek, ripe for kisses,

وفطنةِ الشاعرِ الأريبِ إذا

حلّ سراويلَ مُطرقٍ خجِل

Nor the keen wit of an eloquent poet

And the cunning poet's sharp wit when

Donning his robe's train abashed,

He unlaces the trousers of a shy, downcast youth,

وحُرمةِ الرهزِ والفراغ على

بيضِ غلام مرَجرج الكفلِ

Nor the sacredness of empty plots or

And the sacred rite of the thrust and the spill upon

The white arms of a boy with soft skin,

The white loins of a lad with trembling, heavy hips,

لا زرتُ ظهرَ الحرام معتكفاً

ملبياً راكباً على جملِ

Have I visited the Haram's knoll

I swear I shall not visit the Holy Shrine in retreat,

Piously, riding a camel in procession,

Chanting the pilgrim's cry while mounted on a camel,

إلا على ظهر أمردٍ خنِثٍ

تميلُ أردافهُ من الثقَل

Except atop a hermaphrodite donkey

Unless I ride the back of a smooth, effeminate boy,

Whose hinds sag heavily from the load.

Whose buttocks sway to and fro from their weight,

لا أصحبَ اللَه فتيةً طربوا

إلى ذواتِ الثديّ والحبَل

Never did God make me one of the youths

May God grant no company to young men who delight

Who were aroused by full breasts and pregnancy,

In those creatures possessing breasts and pregnancy,

أيورُهم في الأنام قد وسمت

جباهُها هؤلا من السفَل

Branding them, among all people, on their brows

For their members have marked them among all mankind,

With the mark of those gone astray.

Branding their foreheads as the lowest of the low,

من أنا في موقفِ الحساب إذا

نودي بالأنبياء والرسلِ

Who am I on Judgment Day when called are

Who am I to stand at the Station of Judgment when

The prophets and messengers?

The prophets and messengers are summoned by name?

ذلك يومٌ يجلّ عن خطري

فما لمثلي هناكَ من عمَل

That's a day that will lift my concerns,

That is a day too momentous for my significance;

For one such as I has no deeds.

For the likes of me, there is no business there,

هنتُ على الخالقِ الجليل فما

ينظرُ في قصّتي ولا زلَلي

I have sinned against the Exalted Creator, so

I am too slight in the eyes of the Majestic Creator

He will not examine my story or missteps.

For Him to consider my story or my sin.