طَفلَةٌ كَالغَزالِ ذاتُ دَلالٍ

فِتنَةٌ في النِقابِ وَالإِسفارِ

A tender girl like a gazelle, possessed of coquetry,

A temptation, whether veiled or revealing her face.

أَتَمَنّى وَما بِكَفِّيَ مِنها

غَيرُ مَطلٍ وَغَيرُ سوءِ اِنتِظارِ

I desire her, yet my hand holds nothing of her

Save for deferment and the misery of waiting.

ثُمَّ قالَت جَهَرتَ بِاِسمي في الشِع

رِ فَهَلّا كَنَّيتَ في الأَشعارِ

Then she said: "You have broadcast my name in verse;

Why did you not cloak it with allusion in your rhymes?"

قُلتُ إِنَّ الهَوى إِذا كانَ بِالصَب

بِ وَهى قَلبُهُ عَنِ الأَسرارِ

I replied: "When passion truly possesses the lover,

His heart becomes too frail to guard its secrets."

أَنا جارٌ لَكُم قَريبٌ وَلَكِن

لَيسَ يُغني لَدَيكِ حَقُّ الجِوارِ

I am a neighbor of yours, dwelling close by, yet

The rights of a neighbor hold no sway with you.