دُميَةٌ حَسناءُ تُغري النَظَرا

أَم مَلاكٌ طاهِرٌ فَوقَ الثَرى

A beautiful doll alluring to the eye

A beautiful doll that entices the gaze,

Or a pure angel above the earth

Or a pure angel upon the earth?

طِفلَةٌ ساذَجَةٌ أَطهَرُ مِن

زَهرَةِ الرَوض وَأَنقى جَوهَرا

An innocent child, purer than

An innocent child, purer than

The garden's flower and finer than gemstones

The garden flower, and of clearer essence.

شَرُفَت أَصلا وَطابَت عُنصُراً

وَاِرتَقَت نَفسا وَراقَت مَنظَرا

Noble in origin and pure in descent

Noble in origin, wholesome in nature,

With a sublime soul and pleasing to behold

Elevated in soul, and pleasing in sight.

حَمَلَت قَلباً أَبى أَن يَحمِلَ

الحِقدَ أَو يَكتُمَ نَفَساً كَدَرا

Bearing a heart that refused

She bears a heart that refuses to harbor

To harbor malice or conceal bitterness

Malice, or to conceal a troubled sigh.

تَجهَلُ الشَر وَلا تُحسِنُ أَن

تَخدَعَ الغَير وَلا أَن تَغدِرا

Oblivious to evil, unable to

She knows nothing of evil, nor is she skilled

Deceive others or betray

At deceiving others, or at betrayal.

لا تُبالي بِبَناتِ الدَهرِ إِن

أَقبَلَ الدَهرُ بِها أَو أَدبَرا

Indifferent to the daughters of time

She cares not for the vicissitudes of Time, whether

Whether time faces her or turns away

Fortune advances toward her or retreats.

وَعظُمُ الكَونُ لَدَينا جُرمُهُ

وَتَراهُ عِندَها قَد صَغُرا

The vast universe in our eyes seems small

While the universe seems vast to us in magnitude,

And she sees it as diminished

In her eyes, one sees it has become small.

إِنَّما الدُنيا لَدَيها كُلُّها

أَبَواها وَهُما كُلُّ الوَرى

To her, the whole world

For to her, the entire world consists

Is just her parents and none else

Of her parents; to her, they are all of creation.

جُؤذَرٌ لَكِنَّها آنِسَةٌ

لَم يَرُعها ما يَروعُ الجُؤذَرا

A wildflower, but gently charming

A wild fawn, yet she is gentle and tame,

Unstartled by what startles the wildflowers

Not startled by what startles the wild gazelle.

سَرَقَ التُفّاحُ مِن وَجنَتِها

وَاِستَعارَ الظَبيُ مِنها الحَوَرا

The apple stole from her cheek

The apple stole its crimson from her cheek,

And the gazelle borrowed its glance from her eyes

And the doe borrowed the deep contrast of her eyes.

ذاتُ شِعرٍ ذَهَبِيٍّ لَونُهُ

قَد حَكى نورَ الضُحى مُنتَشِرا

A girl with golden hair

Possessor of hair golden in hue,

That mimics the dawn's scattering light

Resembling the spreading light of the morning.

وَعُيونٍ بِالنُهى عابِثَةٍ

جَذَبَ الغُنجُ إِلَيها الخَفَرا

And playful eyes that attract

And eyes that toy with the intellect,

Even the aloof with their glances

Where coquetry has drawn modesty to itself.

شُغِفَت بِالبَدرِ حُبّاً فَهيَ لا

تَعرِفُ الغَمضَ إِلى أَن يُسفَرا

She loved the moon and thus her eyes

She is passionately enamored with the full moon, so she

Refuse to close until it appears

Knows no sleep until it unveils its face.

وَقَفَت تَرقُبُهُ في لَيلَةٍ

مِثلِ حَظِّ الأُدَباءِ الشُعَرا

She awaited it one night

She stood watching for it on a night

As poets await inspiration

As dark as the fortune of writers and poets.

تَكتُمُ الظَلماءُ مِن لَألائِها

أَيُّ بَدرٍ في الظَلامِ أَستَرا

The darkness concealed her beauty

The darkness conceals, amidst her radiance,

What moon in the dark could compete?

Which full moon is truly veiled in the gloom.

أَرسَلَت نَحوَ الدَراري لَفتَةً

أَذكَرَت تِلكَ الدَراري القَمَرا

She gestured to the houses

She cast a glance toward the shining stars,

Reminding them of the moon

Reminding those stars of the moon itself.

وَإِذا بِالبَدرِ قَد مَزَّقَ عَن

وَجهِهِ بُرقَعَهُ ثُمَّ اِنبَرى

And there, the moon tore off

And lo, the full moon tore away

Its cover and rose

The veil from his face, and stepped forth.

فَأَضاءَ الجَو وَالأَرضَ مَعاً

نورُهُ الفِضِّيُّ لَمّا ظَهَرا

Its silver light illuminated

Illuminating the air and the earth together

The sky and earth when it appeared

With his silver light when he appeared.

فَرَنَت عَن فاتِر وَاِبتَسَمَت

عَن نَظيمٍ قَد أَكَنَّ الدُرارا

She smiled, no longer sullen

She gazed with languid eyes and smiled,

Nor frowned, her face now blossoming

Revealing a row of teeth harboring pearls.

ثُمَّ قالَت يا حَبيبي مَرحَباً

لا رَآكَ الطَرفُ إِلّا نَيِّرا

Then she said, my love, welcome

Then she said: "O my beloved, welcome!

When you come, eyes brighten

May the eye never see you other than shining.

قِف قَليلاً أَو كَثيراً فَعَسى

نورُكَ الباهِرُ يَجلو البَصَرا

Stay a little or stay a while

Stay a while, be it brief or long, for perhaps

Your brilliant light clears the sight

Your dazzling light will clarify my sight.

إِن تَغِب فَالصُبحُ عِندِيَ كَالدُجى

وَالدُجى إِن جِئتَ بِالصُبحِ اِزدَرى

If you're absent, dawn to me is gloom

If you vanish, the morning to me is like darkness,

And gloom, when you come, disdains the dawn

And if you come, the darkness scorns the dawn.

لَم تُحِبَّ السَيرَ لَيلاً فَإِذا

ذَرَّ قَرنُ الشَمسِ عانَقتَ الكَرى

You hate traveling at night, so when

Why do you not love to journey by night? For when

The sun's horn scatters, you embrace the vine

The sun's ray appears, you embrace slumber.

أَتَخافُ الشَمسَ أَم أَنتَ كَذا

تَعشَقُ اللَيل وَتَهوى السَهَرا

Do you fear the sun or is it that

Do you fear the sun? Or is it that you

You love the night and desire vigil?

Are in love with the night and fond of sleeplessness?"

ثُمَّ ناجَت نَفسَها قائِلَةً

أَتُرى أَبلُغُ مِنهُ وَطَرا

Then she whispered to herself

Then she whispered to herself, saying:

Can I reach you or even soar?

"Will I ever attain my desire of him?

لَيتَ لي أَجنِحَةً بَل لَيتَني

نَجمَةً أَتبَعُهُ أَنّى سَرى

Oh, that I had wings! Or better yet

Would that I had wings, or rather, would that I were

Were a star to follow you wherever you go

A star to follow him wherever he roams.

وَهُمَ البَعضُ فَقالوا دِرهَمٌ

ما أَرى الدِرهَمَ إِلّا حَجَرا

While others said, a coin?

Some have imagined, saying he is a silver coin,

I don't see a coin, just a rock

Yet I see the coin as nothing but a stone.

وَلَقَد أَضحَكَني زَعمُهُمُ

أَنَّهُ يُشبِهُ في الحَجمِ الثَرى

Their claim made me laugh

And how their claim has made me laugh,

That it's the same size as the earth

That he resembles the vast earth in size!

زَعَموا ما زَعَموا لَكِنَّما

هُوَ عِندي لُعبَةٌ لا تُشتَرى

Let them say what they say, but

Let them claim what they will, for in truth,

To me it's a toy that can't be bought

To me, he is a plaything that cannot be bought."