أَذكَرتُ نَفسي عَشِيَّةَ الأَحَدِ
مِن زائِرٍ صادَني وَلَم يَصِدِ
I recalled myself on Sunday eve
From a visitor who drew near but did not draw close
أَحوَرَ عَبّى لَنا حَبائِلَهُ
بِالحُسنِ لا بِالرُقى وَلا العُقَدِ
She captivated my heart with her charms
With beauty, not with spells or talismans
فَبِتُّ أَبكي مِن حُبِّ جارِيَةٍ
لَم تَجزِني نائِلاً وَلَم تَكَدِ
I spend the night weeping for love of a girl
Who did not allow me to attain her and did not exert herself
إِلّا حَديثاً كَالخَمرِ لَذَّتُهُ
تَكونُ سُكراً في الروحِ وَالجَسَدِ
Except with words that in their pleasure are like wine
Inebriating spirit and body
ما ساقَ لي حُبُّها وَأَتعَبَني
وَهناً وَلَكِن خُلِقتُ مِن كَبَدِ
Her love has wearied me and made me ill
With weakness, yet I was created with fortitude
إِن أَترُكِ القَصدَ مِن تَذَكُّرِها
يَوماً فَما حُبُّها بِمُقتَصَدِ
If I refrain from remembering her
For a day, her love is not with moderation
طابَت لَنا مَجلِساً عَلى عَجَلِ
ثُمَّ اِنقَضى يَومُنا فَلَم يَعُدِ
She graced us with a gathering hastily
Then our day elapsed and did not return
كَأَنَّما كانَ حُلمَ نائِمَةٍ
سَرَت بِما لَم تَنَل وَلَم تَكَدِ
As if it had been the dream of a sleeping woman
Pleased with what she did not attain and did not exert herself for
لِلَّهِ عَجزاءُ كُلَّما اِنصَرَفَت
خَلَّت عَلَيهِ أَجَلَّ مِن أُحُدِ
Forlorn are all women, whenever she leaves
She is more sublime to me than the acme of glory
ضَيفٌ إِذا ما اِنتَظَرتُ جَيئَتَهُ
يَوماً فُواقاً أَقامَ كَالوَتِدِ
A guest, if I await his coming
For a prolonged day, he stays like a tent-peg
أَقولُ إِذ وَدَّعَت وَوَدَّعَني
نَومي وَلا صَبرَ لي عَلى السُهُدِ
I say, when she bade farewell and I bade her farewell
Sleep left me and I have no patience for slumber
يا رَبِّ إِنّي عَشِقتُ رُؤيَتَها
عِشقَ المُصَلّينَ جَنَّةَ الخُلُدِ
O Lord, I loved the sight of her
With the love of those desiring the Garden of Eternity
عَجزاءُ مِن نِسوَةٍ مُنَعَّمَةٍ
هيفٍ ثِقالٍ أَردافُها خُرُدِ
Of plump women, her thighs a mound
She saw an image befitting her
رَأَت لَها صورَةً تَروقُ بِها
فَأَقبَلَت فَردَةً لِمُنفَرِدِ
So she came to me alone
Increasing his temptation and sustaining him
تَزيدُهُ فِتنَةً وَتُطعِمُهُ
بِوَعدِها في غَدٍ وَبَعدَ غَدِ
With her promise tomorrow and after tomorrow
As if she intends to wrong him
كَأَنَّها تَبتَغي إِساءَتَهُ
بِالقُربِ مِن فِعلِها وَبِالبُعُدِ
With the nearness of her deeds and remoteness
He who brags of a sallow woman in her forms
مَن بَزَّ صَفراءَ في مَجاسِدِها
وَاللَهِ يَوماً يَقعُد عَنِ الرَشَدِ
By God, one day he will sit astray from the right path
An anointed blonde laughing through
مَأدومَةٌ بِالعَبيرِ تَضحَكُ عَن
مِثلِ وِشاحِ الجُمانِ أَو بَرَدِ
A wrap like a double cloak or a fur coat
Of a good aftertaste like the scent
مُؤَشَّرٍ طَيِّبِ المَذاقَةِ كَال
راحِ بِطَعمِ التُفّاحِ مُنجَرِدِ
Of apples, pure and unmixed
Would that her saliva were my drink
يا لَيتَ لي مَشرَباً بِريقَتِها
أَشفي بِهِ غُلَّةً عَلى كَبِدي
To heal with it the bile in my liver
O blonde, do not judge a man
صَفراءُ ما تَحكُمينَ في رَجُلٍ
يَفري مِنَ الشَوقِ جُهدَ مُجتَهِدِ
Who flees from passion despite his utmost effort
He died of sorrow, and longing for you revived him
قَد ماتَ غَمّاً وَشَفَّهُ كَمَدٌ
عَلَيكِ فَاِرِثي لَهُ مِنَ الكَمَدِ
Be his heir, for you inherit his longing
