وشاطرِ أحورِ طاوي الحشا

كأنَّهُ من بقرِ الوحشِ

A rogue with intense black eyes and a slender waist,

Resembling one of the wild oryx of the desert.

قلتُ له إذ جاءنا ماشياً

وقلّما أبصرتهُ يمشي

I said to him when he came to us on foot,

Though rarely had I ever seen him walking:

يا ناكثاً العهدِ ومزرٍ لهُ

ماذي الأحاديث التي تنشي

"O breaker of covenants, who holds them in scorn,

What are these stories that you fabricate?

وما الذي تصنع في دربنا

ويحكَ يا مأمونيَ الغشّ

And what business do you have in our path?

Woe to you, O you of guaranteed deceit!

واللَه ما افلتنّي بعدما

أمكنَ منكَ اللَهُ ذو العرش

By God, you shall not escape me now that

God, the Lord of the Throne, has empowered me over you,

حتى توفي البيتَ أو تفتدي

منّي بما تكرهُ من رَقشي

Until you fulfill the visit to the house, or ransom yourself

From me to avoid the stinging satire you detest."

فقال صِلني وأقل عثرتي

واكتم على عبدِكَ لا تُفش

He replied, "Grant me union and forgive my stumble,

And conceal your servant's secret; do not expose me."

فقمتُ باللعبِ فمازحتهُ

على طريق المزحِ والجمشِ

So I began to toy with him in jest,

By way of humor and flirtatious teasing,

جذباً إلى البيت فما إن لوى

حتى استوى في البيت في النقشِ

Pulling him toward the house—and he did not turn away—

Until he was settled inside, amidst the decorations.

فنلتُ تقبيلاً على خدّهِ

ونام منكبّاً على فرشي

There I won a kiss upon his cheek,

And he slept, lying prone upon my bed.

والشكر فيما كان من فعلهِ

وبذله للحسَنِ الهرشي

Gratitude is due for the deed he performed,

And for his generosity to al-Hasan al-Harshi.