وَمُرْتَبَعٍ لُذْنا بِأَذْيالِ دَوْحِهِ

مِنَ الحَرِّ وَالبَيْضاءُ شُبَّتْ لَظاتُها

And in a verdant retreat, we sought refuge beneath the skirts of its great trees,

from the heat, while the white sun had kindled its flames.

وَظَلَّتْ تُناجينا صَباً مَشْرِقِيَّةٌ

تُزيلُ تَباريحَ الجَوى نَسَماتُها

An eastern zephyr remained, whispering intimately to us;

its breaths dispelled the torments of passion.

وَلِلطَّيْرِ أَسْرابٌ تَناغَى بِأَلْسُنٍ

على عَذَبِ الأَغْصانِ شَتَّى لُغاتُها

The birds gathered in flocks, singing to one another in many tongues

upon the tender branches, each with its own language.

فَتِلْكَ قُدودٌ مِنْ قِيانٍ لِهذِهِ

عَلَيها إِذا ما غَرَّدَتْ نَغَماتُها

Those, then, are the slender forms of singing-girls for these birds;

upon them, whenever they warble, rest their melodies.

وَمِمَّا شَجاني بَعْد وُرْقٍ تَجاوَبَتْ

مُطَوَّقَةٌ تُطْلَى بِوَرْسٍ سَراتُها

And what grieved me, after gray doves answered one another,

was a ring-necked dove, the ridge of her back dyed with yellow wars.

وَتَبْكي بِعَيْنٍ لا تَجُودُ بِعَبْرَةٍ

وَأَبْكِي بِعَيْنٍ جَمَّةٍ عَبَراتُها

She weeps with an eye that will not yield a tear,

while I weep with an eye abundant in tears.

وَلَولا الهَوى لَمْ أُرْعِها سَمْعَ آلِفٍ

صَليلَ السُّرَيْجِيّاِت حُمْراً ظُباتُها

Were it not for love, I would never have lent her the ear of one accustomed

to the clang of Surayji swords, their blades stained red.

وَلا مَلَكَتْ ظَمْياءُ نَفْساً أَبِيَّةً

قَليلٌ إِلى دارِ الهَوانِ الْتِفاتُها

Nor would a gazelle-slender beauty have mastered a proud soul

that seldom turns toward the abode of humiliation.

بِها تَقْصُرُ الأَعْمَارُ في حَوْمَةِ الوَغى

وَتَهْوَى المَعالي أَنْ تَطُولَ حَياتُها

Through such a soul, lives are shortened in the maelstrom of battle,

while lofty deeds desire that its life be long.