لَولا حِذاري مِن جِنانِ
لَخَلَعتُ عَن رَأسي عِناني
Were it not for my caution regarding Jinan,
I would have cast the reins of restraint from my head,
وَرَكِبتُ ما أَهوى وَكَم
أَجفو مَقالَةَ مَن نَهاني
And ridden wherever my desire led—for how often
Have I spurned the words of those who forbid me!
وَخَرَجتُ أَخبِطُ سادِراً
لَم أَغنَ عَن حُبِّ الغَواني
I would have gone forth, stumbling blindly in my daze,
Unable to abstain from the love of fair maidens.
قَد ذُبتُ غَيرَ حُشاشَةٍ
في النَفسِ تَحبِسُها الأَماني
I have melted away until nothing remains but a breath,
Imprisoned within the soul by fleeting hopes.
يا مَن يَلومُ عَلى الصَبا
دَعني فَشَأنُكَ غَيرُ شاني
O you who cast blame upon youthful passion,
Leave me be, for your concerns are not mine.
لَم تَلقَ مِن حُرَقِ الهَوى
ما قَد لَقيتُ عَلى عِنانِ
You have not suffered the burning fires of love
That I have endured for the sake of 'Inan.
أَنّى تَرُدُّ عَلَيَّ قَل
باً راحَ في غَلَقِ الرِهانِ
How can you restore to me a heart
That has been lost within a locked wager?
قَلباً إِذا كَلَّفتُهُ
غَيرَ الَّذي يَهوى عَصاني
A heart which, were I to burden it with
Anything but what it desires, would disobey me.
قَد خُضتُ في لُجَجِ الهَوى
وَشَرِبتُ صافِيَةَ الدِنانِ
I have plunged into the deep abysses of passion,
And drunk pure wine from the clay jars,
وَمُضَمَّخاتٍ بِالعَبي
رِ نَزَلنَ مِن غُرَفِ الجِنانِ
With women heavily anointed with saffron scents,
Who have descended from the high chambers of Paradise.
راضَعتُهُنَّ مِنَ الصِبا
كَأساً عَقَدنَ بِها لِساني
I shared with them the cup of youthful folly,
A draught that knotted my tongue in silence.
أَقبَلنَ مِن بابِ الرِصا
فَةِ كَالتَماثيلِ الحِسانِ
They approached from the Gate of al-Rusafa,
Resembling statues of exquisite beauty,
يَحفُفنَ أَحوَرَ كَالغَزا
لِ أُمِرَّ إِمرارَ العِنانِ
Surrounding a wide-eyed one, like a gazelle,
Whose form is tightly spun like a twisted rein.
يَمشي بِرِدفٍ كَالنَقا
يَختالُ تَحتَ قَضيبِ بانِ
He walks with hips like a mound of sand,
Strutting beneath a torso slender as a willow branch.
فَإِذا اِنجَلَيتِ فَجامِلي
كَيلا أَموتَ عَلى المَكانِ
So when you reveal yourself, treat me with kindness,
Lest I die right here upon this spot.
وَلَقَد أَقولُ لِمَن دَعا
هُ مِنَ الهَوى ما قَد دَعاني
And indeed, I say to him whom passion summons,
Just as it has summoned me before:
أَبلِغ هَواكَ مِنَ الغِنا
وَالكَأسِ وَاِغنَ عَنِ الزَمانِ
"Attain your desire through song,"
"And the cup, and live free of Time's burdens."
لا يَشغَلَنَّكَ غَيرُ ما
تَهوى فَكُلُّ العَيشِ فانِ
"Let nothing occupy you but what"
"You desire, for all of life is perishing."
وَدَعِ الهَوانَ لِأَهلِهِ
إِذ زُلتَ عَن دارِ الهَوانِ
"And leave humiliation to those who dwell in it,"
"Once you have departed from the abode of scorn."
