مَتى مِنّا مُحِبٌّ مُدَّعينا

إِلى السُلوانِ أَنكِرُ ما اِدَّعَينا

Whenever a lover is claimed as one of us,

he is the most estranged from consolation of all we claim.

وَعَنّى نَفسَهُ مَن رامَ عَنّا

لِبَينِ مَرامِهِ في الحُبِّ بَينا

Whoever tried to speak for us only wearied himself,

for between his aim in love and ours lies a manifest gulf.

وَأَينَ مِنَ الغَرامِ وَإِن عاهَ ال

غَرامُ جَوٍ تَشَكّى مِنهُ أَينا

How far from passion is one—even should

passion wound him inwardly—who complains of weariness from it?

فَلا وَالحُبِّ لَيسَ هُناكَ مِنهُ

فَتىً لَم يَقضِ فيهِ ما قَضَينا

No—by love! There is no true lover there

who has not suffered in it what we have suffered.

تَدَرَّعنا الغَرامَ وَما اِدَّرَعنا

وَرَوَّعنا المَلامُ وَما اِرعَوَينا

We donned passion as armor, though we took no shield,

and blame terrified us, yet we never desisted.

وَبَدَّلنا الهَوى بِالعِزِّ ذُلّاً

وَغَيرَ البَينِ عِنهُ ما أَبَينا

For love we traded honor for humiliation,

and refused nothing from him except separation.

وَمِن دَرَجِ الصُعودِ إِلى المَعالي

إِلى دَرِ الهَوانَ بِهِ هَوَينا

From the steps of ascent toward the heights,

to humiliation’s lowest depth, through them we fell.

وَأَمَرَ الآمِرينَ بِهِ أَطَعنا

وَنَهيَ ذَوي النُهى عَنهُ عَصَينا

We obeyed the commander who commanded us concerning him,

and disobeyed the wise when they forbade us from him.

وَلِأَحبابِ إِن غَدَروا وَأَبدوا

مُذ مِتنا بِذِمَّتِنا وَفينا

For our beloveds—even if they betray us and make it plain—

since we died, we have remained faithful to our pledge.

وَغَيرَ السُخطِ مِنهُم ما سَخَطنا

وَلا دونَ الرِضى لَمُ اِرتَضَينا

Nothing from them angered us except their displeasure,

nor were we content with anything short of their favor.

وَأَلفَينا الجَوى صَحباً وَلَمّا

أَلِفناهُ عَلَينا صارَ هَينا

We found heartache a companion, and when

we grew accustomed to it, it became easy for us.

وَكَم رامَ الوُشاةُ بِنا اِنثَناءً

عَنِ الظَبيِ الأَغَنِّ فَما اِنثَنَينا

How often the slanderers tried to turn us

from the sweet-voiced gazelle, but we never turned.

بِروحي مَن لَهُ وَلَهي وَروحي

بِهِ صَرفُ اللُبانَةِ عَن لُبَينى

My soul be ransom for him who owns my rapture and my soul;

through him my longing was diverted from Lubaynā.

إِذا ما غابَ في الظَلماءِ رُحنا

بِلا ضَوءٍ وَإِن آبَ اِغَتَدَينا

When he vanishes into darkness, we journey by night

without a light; when he returns, we set out at dawn.

بِذابِلِ قَدِّهِ وَردٌ جِنِّيٌّ

يُضاعَفُ كُلَّما مِنهُ اِجتَنَينا

Upon the slender lance of his form is a freshly plucked rose

that multiplies whenever we pluck from him.

لِتَفرِقَةِ المِلاحَةِ فيهِ جَمعٌ

إِذا طَلَبَ الجَمالَ بِهِ أَتَينا

In him are gathered beauty’s scattered graces;

whenever beauty is sought, we bring him forth.

يُسقينا المُدامَ إِذا صَحَونا

وَيَطوينا إِذا نَحنُ اِنتَشَينا

He gives us wine whenever we are sober,

and folds us away whenever we are drunk.

فَعَنهُ الصَبرُ أَصعَبُ ما فَقَدنا

وَفيهِ المَوتُ أَهوَنُ ما التَقَينا

In separation from him, patience is the hardest thing we have lost,

and in him, death is the easiest thing we have met.