يا مَنظَراً حَسَناً رَأَيتُه

مِن وَجهِ جارِيَةٍ فَدَيتُه

O you whose beautiful face I saw

From the cheek of a maiden I'd ransom

لَمَعَت إِلَيَّ تَسومُني

لَعِبَ الشَبابِ وَقَد طَوَيتُه

She glanced at me coquettishly

Playing with youth though I've outgrown it

وَتَقولُ إِنَّكَ قَد جَفَو

تَ وَكُنتَ لي شَجَناً حَوَيتُه

And you say you've become aloof

You used to grieve me, worries I've hidden

فَأُريدُ صَرمَكَ تارَةً

وَإِذا اِرعَوى قَلبي نَهَيتُه

Sometimes I want your company

But when passion stirs my heart I deny it

وَأَرى عَلَيكَ مَهابَةً

وَيَحِلُّ ذَنبُكَ لَو بَغَيتُه

And I see you with awe

Though your sin I'd easily permit

ثُمَّ اِعتَذَرتَ مِنَ الصُدو

دِ فَما سَخِطتُ وَما اِرتَضَيتُه

Then you apologized for ignoring me

I was neither angry nor content with it

يا سَلمَ طابَ لَكِ الفُؤا

دُ وَعَزَّ سُخطُكِ فَاِحتَمَيتُه

O Salma, blessings on you

Defiant, your anger I've sought to avoid

وَاللَهِ رَبِّ مُحَمَّدٍ

ما إِن غَدَرتُ وَلا نَوَيتُه

By God, Lord of Mohammed

I have not betrayed, nor intended it

أَمسَكتُ عَنكِ وَرُبَّما

عَرَضَ البَلاءُ وَما بَغَيتُه

I've held back from you, though sometimes

Hardships arose, which I did not seek

إِنَّ الخَليفَةَ قَد بَغى

وَإِذا أَبى شَيئاً أَبَيتُه

The Caliph desires it

And when he insists on something, I obey

وَمُخَضَّبٍ رَخصِ البَنا

نِ بَكى عَلَيَّ وَما بَكَيتُه

And an effeminate man of easy virtue

Wept for me, though I did not weep for him

وَدَعانِيَ الرَشَأُ الغَري

رُ إِلى اللِعابِ فَما أَتَيتُه

And drunkenness called me

To frivolity, but I did not answer

وَلَقَد أَخَذتُ مِنَ الصَفا

ما في الضَميرِ وَقَد لَوَيتُه

Indeed I have taken from sobriety

What is in my conscience, and I have twisted it

وَيَشوقُني بَيتُ الحَبي

بِ إِذا غَدَوتُ وَأَينَ بَيتُه

And the house of my beloved tempts me

When I go in the morning, where is her house?

قامَ الخَليفَةُ دونَهُ

فَصَبَرتُ عَنهُ وَما قَلَيتُه

The Caliph stands between us

So I am patient with him and do not defy him

وَنَهاني المَلِكُ الهُما

مُ عَنِ النِساءِ وَما عَصَيتُه

And the King has forbidden me

From women, and I have not disobeyed him

لا بَل وَفَيتُ وَلَم أُضِع

عَهداً وَلا وَأياً وَأَيتُه

No, I have kept my word and not broken

A promise or vow that I have made

وَأَنا المُطِلُّ عَلى العِدى

وَإِذا غَلا عِلقٌ شَرَيتُه

And I refrain from wrongdoing

And if passion stirs, I buy it off

أُصفي الخَليلَ إِذا دَنا

وَإِذا نَأى عَنّي رَأَيتُه

I am loyal to a friend when he is near

And when he is far from me, I watch over him

وَأَميلُ في أُنسِ النَدي

مِ مِنَ الحَياءِ وَما اِشتَهَيتُه

And I incline toward the intimacy of the beloved

Out of shyness, not lust that I have sought

حالَ الصَفاءُ عَلى الصَفا

ءِ وَلَم يَكُن عوداً بَرَيتُه

Innocence prevailed over innocence

It was not a branch that I have chopped down

فَالأَمرُ غَيرُ مُقَصِّرٍ

لَو خِفتُ صاحِبَيَ اِتَّقَيتُه

So the matter is not neglect on my part

If I feared my companion, I would beware