فَهْيَ خَذوَاءُ بِعَيشٍ ناعِمٍ
بَرَدَ العَيْشُ عَلَيها وَقُصِرْ
She is delicate, living a life of luxury
Yet life became difficult and her dwelling confined
لا تَمَسُّ الأَرضَ إِلَّا دونَها
عَن بَلاطِ الأَرضِ ثَوبٌ مُنعَفِرْ
She barely touches the ground except beneath her
As her dress trails along the ground, rumpled
تَطَأُ الخَزَّ وَلا تُكْرِمُهُ
وَتُطيلُ الذَّيلَ مِنهُ وَتَجُرّْ
She steps on silk but does not honor it
Dragging her train over it as it flows behind
وَتَرَى الرَّيطَ مَوَادِيعَ لَها
شُعُراً تَلبَسُها بَعدَ شُعُرْ
Her tresses are like threads she dons
After donning her own locks first
ثُمَّ تَنْهَدُّ عَلى أَنمَاطِها
مِثلَ ما مالَ كَثِيبٌ مُنقَعِرْ
Then she sighs over her attributes
Like a dune that has collapsed and scattered
عَبَقُ العَنبَرِ وَالمِسكِ بِها
فَهيَ صَفرَاءُ كَعُرجُون العُمُرْ
The scent of ambergris and musk is upon her
Her complexion like an old ambergris pod
إِنَّما النَّومُ عِشَاءً طَفَلاً
سِنَةٌ تَأْخُذُها مِثْلَ السُّكُرْ
Sleep to her is but a child's dinner
An age that takes her like intoxication
وَالضُّحَى تَغْلِبُها وَقدَتُها
خَرَقَ الجُؤْذُر في اليَومِ الخَدِرْ
And the morning overpowers her and her vigor
The roots have worn through the inert day
وَهْيَ لَو يُعصَرُ مِن أَردَانِها
عَبَقُ المِسْكِ لَكَادَت تَنعَصِرْ
If her thighs were pressed, the scent of musk would flow
She is the saltiest of creatures when undressed
أَملَحُ الخَلقِ إِذا جَرَّدتَها
غَيرَ سِمطينِ عَلَيها وَسُؤُرْ
Apart from her chemise and necklaces upon her
You would think the sun was unveiled from within her robes
لَحَسِبتَ الشَّمسَ في جِلبابِها
قَد تَبَدَّت مِن غَمامٍ مُنسَفِرْ
Each time a sun sets or becomes concealed
You left me neither alive nor
صُورَةُ الشَّمسِ عَلى صُورَتِها
كُلَّما تَغرُبُ شَمْسٌ أَو تَذُرّْ
Dead, having met death and been buried
People ask, does he suffer from fever
تَركتني لَستُ بِالحَيِّ وَلا
مَيِّتٍ لاقَى وَفَاةً فَقُبِرْ
Or is he just lovesick and hiding it
She is my disease and my cure lies with her
يَسأَلُ النَّاسُ أَحُمَّى داؤُهُ
اَم بِهِ كانَ سُلالٌ مُستَسِرّْ
She withheld it, so it has become severe and painful
If my brothers were to kill me because of her
وَهْيَ دَائِي وَشِفائي عِندَها
مَنَعَتْهُ فَهْوَ مُلْوِيٌّ عَسِرْ
The seeker among them would gain and succeed
I am not with people who mention her
وَهْيَ لَو يَقْتُلُهَا بِي إِخوَتي
أَدرَكَ الطَّالِبُ مِنهُم وَظَفِرْ
Verdant branches calling to barren wood
ما أَنا الدَّهر بِناسٍ ذِكرها
ما غَدَتْ وَرْقاءُ تَدعُو سَاقَ حُرّْ
