أَحارِثَ عَلِّلني وَإِن كُنتُ مُسهَبا
وَلا تَرجُ نَومي قَد أَجَدَّ لِيَذهَبا
Oh Aharith, reproach me, though I ramble on,
And chide not my sleeplessness which makes me fade.
دَنا بَيتُ مَن أَهوى وَشَطَّ بِبَينِهِ
حَبيبٌ فَأَصبَحتُ الشَقِيَّ المُعَذَّبا
My beloved's house drew near and intervened between us,
So I awakened miserable and tormented.
إِذا شِئتُ غاداني وَخيمٌ مُلَعَّنٌ
وَجَنَّبتُ مِن وُدّي لَهُ فَتَجَنَّبا
When I wanted to visit, there was a cursed tent,
And I avoided giving him my love, so he avoided me.
أَحارِثَ ما طَعمُ الحَياةِ إِذا دَنا
بَغيضٌ وَفارَقتُ الحَبيبَ المُقَرَّبا
Oh Aharith, life's taste is unpleasant when
My beloved draws near, though once he was intimate.
وَقائِلَةٍ ما لي رَأَيتُكَ خاشِعاً
وَقَد كُنتَ مِمّا أَن تَلَذَّ وَتَطرَبا
A woman said, “Why do I see you downcast
When you used to enjoy life and were joyous?”
فَقُلتُ لَها مَشّى الهَوى في مَفاصِلي
وَرامي فَتاةٍ لَيتَهُ كانَ أَصوَبا
I said, “Passion walked through my joints,
And I desired a girl—would that she were more proper!
تَرَقَّبُ فينا العاذِلينَ عَلى الهَوى
وَما نالَ عَيشاً قَبلَنا مَن تَرَقَّبا
Those who censure passionate love watch over us,
And none lived happily before us who watched.
إِذا نَحنُ لَم نَنعَم شَباباً فَإِنَّما
شَقينا وَلَم يَحزَن لَنا مَن تَشَبَّبا
If we don’t enjoy our youth, then we are miserable,
And none who enjoyed their youth grieved for us.
وَما اِستَفرَغَ اللَذّاتِ إِلّا مُقابِلٌ
إِذا هَمَّ لَم يَذكُر رِضى مَن تَشَبَّبا
None exhausted pleasures except a worthy man,
Who, when he desired, did not remember those who enjoyed their youth.
فَلا تَرقُبي في عاشِقٍ أَنتِ هَمُّهُ
قَريباً وَلا تَستَأذِني فيهِ أَجنَبا
So do not watch for a lover whose only care is
His loved one; do not ask me about strangers.
لِعَلَّكُما تَستَعهِدانِ مِنَ الهَوى
بِنَظرَةِ عَينٍ أَو تُريدانِ مَلعَبا
Maybe you both underestimate passion
With a glance of the eye, or you both want amusement.
يَلومُكِ في الحُبِّ الخَلِيُّ وَلَو غَدا
بِداءِ الهَوى لَم يَرعَ أُمّاً وَلا أَبا
The emaciated man blames you for love—and if tomorrow
He fell ill with love’s malady, he would not mind mother or father.
أَخُشّابَ قَد طالَ اِنتِظاري فَأَنعِمي
عَلى رَجُلٍ يَدعو الأَطِبّاءَ مُتعَبا
Oh Khushshab, my waiting has been long, so show kindness
To a man who calls doctors, utterly exhausted.
أُصيبَ بِشَوقٍ فَاِستُخِفَّت حَصاتُهُ
وَلا يَعرِفُ التَغميضَ إِلّا تَقَلُّبا
He is smitten with yearning, so his eyelids have thinned,
And he knows no sleep but tossing and turning.
يَرى الهَجرَ أَحياناً مِنَ الهَمِّ عارِضاً
وَإِن هَمَّ بِالهِجرانِ هابَ وَكَذَّبا
He sometimes sees estrangement in his worry,
And if he considers estrangement, he refuses and denies it.
بِهِ جِنَّةٌ مِن صَبوَةٍ لَعِبَت بِهِ
وَقَد كانَ لا يَصبو غُلاماً مُشَبَّبا
He is possessed by madness from youth that played with him,
And he had not acted madly as a passionate youth.
تَمَنّاكِ حَتّى صِرتِ وَسواسَ قَلبِهِ
وَعاصى إِلَيكِ الصالِحينَ تَجَنُّبا
He desired you until you became the obsession of his heart,
And he disobeyed the righteous by avoiding you.
وَبَيضاءَ مِعطارٍ يَروقُ بِعَينِها
A sweet-scented white girl pleased his eye,
She saw great passion for you in me and gasped—
رَأَت بي كَبيراً مِن هَواكِ فَسَبَّحَت
وَأَكبَرُ مِمّا قَد رَأَت ما تَغَيَّبا
What she did not see is even greater than what disappeared.
Oh Khushshab, my heart once had a wound
أَخُشّابَ قَد كانَت عَلى القَلبِ قُرحَةٌ
مِنَ الشَوقِ لا يَسطيعُها مَن تَطَيَّبا
Of longing that no one who enjoys life could heal.
When its pus was pierced, out crept
إِذا قُدِحَت مِنها الصَبابَةُ نَتَّجَت
عَقارِبُ فيها عَقرَباً ثُمَّ عَقرَبا
Scorpions, and then more scorpions.
How long until we meet and speak
وَحَتّى مَتى لا نَلتَقي لِحَديثِنا
وَمَكنونِ حُبِّ في الحَشا قَد تَشَعَّبا
Of our secret love that branched out in the thickets?
My soul is torn every day and night,
تَقَطَّعُ نَفسي كُلَّ يَومٍ وَلَيلَةٍ
إِلَيكِ مَنوطاً بَالأَمانِيِّ خُلَّبا
Hopeful of you, adorned with trinkets.
