أَجَبتُ إِلى الصَبابَةِ مَن دَعاني

وَخالَفتُ الَّذي عَنها نَهاني

I yielded to the one who called me to revelry

I answered the call of he who summoned me to yearning,

And opposed the one who prohibited me from it

And defied the one who sought to forbid me its path.

وَلَم يُرَ في الهَوى مِثلي وَفِيٌّ

إِذا اللاحي عَلى حُبٍّ لَحاني

And none is as faithful in love as I

No lover more loyal than I has ever been seen,

If the glances of the beloved incline towards my love

Even when the critic heaped blame upon my passion.

أَطَعتُ لِشَقوَتي قَلباً غَوِيّاً

إِلى اللَذّاتِ مَخلوعَ العِنانِ

I obeyed a wanton heart

To my own misery, I obeyed a heart led astray,

To desires let loose without restraint

Charging toward pleasures with a loosened rein.

يُصارِمُ كُلَّ مَن يَهوى وِصالي

وَيُؤثِرُ بِالمَحَبَّةِ مَن جَفاني

It contends with all who seek my union

It severs ties with all who desire my union,

And prefers with love those who spurned me

Yet favors with affection the one who casts me aside.

وَليسَ يُحِبُّ حَيثُ يُلِمُّ إِلّا

ظِباءَ الأُنسِ أَو حورَ الجِنانِ

And it does not love where it is hurt

It falls in love, wherever it alights, with none but

Except the gentle companions or the houri of paradise

The gazelles of the gathering or the houris of Paradise.

يُكَلِّفُني هَوى مَن لا يُبالي

لَوَ اِنَّ المَوتَ عاقَصَني مَكاني

The passion of one who does not care

It burdens me with passion for one who would not care

Compels me even if death severs my ties

If death were to strike me down where I stand.

يُعَرِّضُني لِفِتنَةِ كُلِّ أَمرٍ

وَيَحمِلُني عَلى مِثلِ السِنانِ

It exposes me to the trial of every matter

It exposes me to the torment of every trial,

And makes me bear the likes of spears

And bears me upon the sharp point of a spear.