وَأَبيَضَ مِثلُ البَدرِ دارَةُ وَجهِهِ

لَهُ كَفَلٌ رابٍ بِهِ يَتَرَجَّحُ

His face is white like the full moon

And a fair-skinned one, the orb of his face like the full moon,

With dimpled cheeks that gently sway

Possessing heavy hips that make him sway as he walks.

أَغَنُّ خُماسِيٌّ لِما أَنتَ طالِبٌ

مِنَ اللَهوِ فيهِ وَاللَذاذَةِ يَصلُحُ

A delightful, playful quintain

A soft-voiced lad of five spans, fit for that which you desire

For what you seek in joyful day

Of amusement and pleasure—for all this he is suited.

تَقَنَّصَني لَمّا بَدا لِيَ سانِحاً

كَما مَرَّ ظَبيٌ بِالمَفازَةِ يَسنَحُ

He charmed me when he came in sight

He ensnared me when he appeared, crossing my path,

Like a gazelle roaming the plain

Just as a gazelle passes through the desert wilderness.

فَأَمكَنَني طَوعاً عِنانَ قِيادِهِ

فَقَد خِلتُ ظَبياً واقِفاً لَيسَ يَبرَحُ

I let him lead me with ease

Then obediently he yielded to me the reins of his control,

And stood enchanted, not to wane

So that I imagined a gazelle standing still, never to depart.

فَقُلتُ لَهُ زُرني فَدَيتُكَ زَورَةً

أَقُرُّ بِها ماشِئتُ عَيناً وَأَفرَحُ

I asked, visit me, my darling

I said to him, "Visit me—may I be your ransom—just one visit,"

I'll happily feast my eyes for aye

"Through which I may fully delight my eyes and rejoice."

فَقالَ بِوَجهٍ مُشرِقٍ مُتَبَسِّمٍ

وَقَد كِدتُ أَقضي لِلهَوى أَنتَ تَمزَحُ

With a smiling, radiant face he said

He replied with a radiant, smiling face,

You jest, though I'm lovesick, I say

—While I nearly perished from passion—"You are surely jesting."

تَقَدَّم لَنا لا يَعرِفُ الناسُ حالَنا

وَأَقبَلَ في تَخطارِهِ يَتَرَنَّحُ

Let's go before others see, my dear

"Go on ahead, so that people may not know our business,"

He walked with a gentle swinging gait

And then he approached, swaying in his strutting gait.

فَجِئتُ إِلى صَحبي بِظَبيٍ مُفَتَّقٍ

فَلَمّا تَراؤوا ضَوءَ خَدَّيهِ سَبَّحوا

I came to my friends with the gazelle

So I brought to my companions a gazelle of rare beauty;

When they saw his cheeks glow, they prayed

When they beheld the light of his cheeks, they glorified God.

فَقُلتُ لَهُم لا تُعجِلوهُ فَإِنَّما

عَلامَتُنا عِندَ الفَراغِ التَنَحنُحُ

I said, don't rush him, we must wait

I said to them, "Do not rush him, for truly,"

Till the end, our sign is his soft neigh

"Our signal, when the deed is done, shall be a clearing of the throat."