شَجاني وَأَبلاني تَذَكُّرُ مَن أَهوى
وَأَلبَسَني ثَوباً مِنَ الضُرِّ وَالبَلوى
The memory of the one I love has grieved and consumed me,
And clothed me in a garment of distress and tribulation.
يَدُلُّ عَلى مافي الضَميرِ مِنَ الفَتى
تَقَلُّبُ عَينَيهِ إِلى شَخصِ مَن يَهوى
Revealing what lies hidden within the youth's inner soul
Is the turning of his gaze toward the figure of the one he desires.
وَما كُلُّ مَن يَهوى هَوىً هُوَ صادِقٌ
أَخو الحُبِّ نِضوٌ لا يَموتُ وَلا يَحيا
Yet not every lover who claims passion is sincere;
The true companion of love is a wasted frame, neither dead nor truly alive.
خَطَبنا إِلى الدَهقانِ بَعضَ بَناتِهِ
فَزَوَّجَنا مِنهُنَّ في خِدرِهِ الكُبرى
We sought from the Dihqan the hand of one of his daughters,
So he wed us, within his private chamber, to the eldest among them.
وَمازالَ يُغلي مَهرَها وَيَزيدُهُ
إِلى أَن بَلَغنا مِنهُ غايَتَهُ القُصوى
He ceased not to raise her dowry high, increasing its cost,
Until we met his utmost terms and final demand.
رَحيقاً أَبوها الماءُ وَالكَرمُ أُمُّها
وَحاضِنُها حَرُّ الهَجيرِ إِذا يُحمى
A pure nectar: water is her father, and the vine her mother,
And her wet-nurse is the midday heat when it blazes fierce.
لِساكِنِها دَنٌّ بِهِ القارُ مُشعَرٌ
إِذا بَرَزَت مِنهُ فَلَيسَ لَها مَثوى
Her dwelling place is an earthen cask, lined within with pitch;
Once she emerges from it, she finds no lasting abode.
يَهوديَّةُ الأَنسابِ مُسلِمَةُ القُرى
شَآمِيَّةُ المَغدى عِراقِيَّةُ المَنشا
She is of Jewish lineage, yet a Muslim of the villages,
Levantine in her morning setting, Iraqi in her creation.
مَجوسِيَّةٌ قَد فارَقَت أَهلَ دينِها
لِبِغضَتِها النارَ الَّتي عِندَهُم تُذكى
A Zoroastrian who has parted ways with the followers of her faith,
Out of hatred for the sacred fire they kindle amongst themselves.
رَأَت عِندَنا ضَوءَ السِراجِ فَراعَها
فَما سَكَنَت حَتّى أَمَرنا بِهِ يُطفى
She beheld the lamp's light in our midst and was terrified,
And found no peace until we commanded it be extinguished.
وَبَينا نَراها في النَدامى أَسيرَةً
إِذِ اندَفَعَت فيهُم فَصاروا لَها أَسرى
And while we viewed her as a captive among the drinking companions,
She surged within them, and they became her captives instead.
إِذا أَصبَحَت أَهدَت إِلى الشَمسِ سَجدَةً
وَتَسجُدُ أُخرى حينَ تَسجُدُ لِلمَسرى
When morning breaks, she offers a prostration to the sun,
And bows once more when the sun descends for its night journey.
أُميتَت بِلَذّاتِ الكُؤوسِ نُفوسُهُم
فَأَنفُسُهُم أَحيا وَأَجسادُهُم مَوتى
Their souls were slain by the pleasures of the cups;
Thus their spirits are vividly alive, while their bodies lie as dead.
وَساقٍ غَريرِ الطَرفِ وَالدَلِّ فاتِنٍ
رَبيبِ مُلوكٍ كانَ والِدُهُم كِسرى
And a cupbearer with innocent eyes, charming in his coquetry,
A foster-child of kings whose forefather was Chosroes.
حَثَثنا مُغَنّينا عَلى شُربِ كَأسِهِ
فَتُدرِكُهُ كَأسٌ وَفي كَفِّهِ أَخرى
We urged our singer to drain his cup,
So one cup overtook him while another was already in his hand.
فَأَمسَكَ ما في كَفِّهِ بِشِمالِهِ
وَأَوما إِلى الساقي لِيَسقِيَ بِاليُمنى
He grasped what was in his hand with his left,
And signaled the cupbearer to fill his right hand.
فَشَبَّهتُ كَأسَيهِ بِكَفِّيهِ إِذ بَدا
سَراجينِ في مِحرابِ قَسٍّ إِذا صَلّى
I likened the two cups in his palms, as he appeared,
To two lamps in a priest's altar at the moment of prayer.
أَديرا عَليَّ الكَأسَ تَنكَشِفِ البَلوى
وَتَلتَذُّ عَيني طيبَ رائِحَةِ الدُنيا
Pass the cup around to me, that my affliction may be lifted,
And my eye may delight in the fragrant essence of this world.
عُقاراً كَأَنَّ البَرقَ في لَمَعانِها
تَجَلّى لِأَبصارٍ فَكادَت بِهِ تَعمى
A potent vintage, as if lightning flashes within its brilliance,
Revealing itself to eyes that are nearly blinded by its glare.
إِذا ما عَلاها الماءُ خِلتُ حَبابَها
تَفاريقَ دُرٍّ في جَوانِبِها شَتّى
When water is poured upon it, I deemed its rising bubbles
To be scattered pearls dispersed along its brim.
فَتَزدادُ عِندَ المَزجِ طيباً كَأَنَّها
إِشارَةُ مَن تَهوى إِلى كُلِّ ما تَهوى
Upon mixing, it grows in sweetness, as though it were
The gesture of your beloved promising all that you desire.
