شموسٌ دعاهنَّ وَشْكُ الفِرَاقِ

فَلَبَّيْنَ في القُضُبِ المُيّسِ

Suns, summoned by the imminence of parting,

answered among the swaying boughs.

تُريقُ المدامعَ كالساقياتِ

من السّكْرِ يَعْثُرْنَ بالأكؤسِ

They pour out tears like cupbearers

who, drunk, stumble with their goblets.

طوالعُ نحو غروبٍ تُريكَ

جُسُومَ الديارِ بلا أنْفُسِ

Rising toward a setting, they show you

the bodies of dwellings emptied of souls.

تُزَوِّرُ صوناً عليها الخدور

فتبكي عيونَ المها الكُنّسِ

Curtained walls close around them,

and the eyes of oryx in their lairs weep.

وقد زارَ عذبَ اللمى في الأقاحِ

أُجاجُ الدموع منَ النّرجِسِ

The sweetness of dusky lips amid daisy-white teeth has turned

briny with tears from narcissus-eyes.

وقامتْ على قَدَمٍ فِرْقَةٌ

إذا وقَفَ العَزْمُ لم تجْلِسِ

And separation has risen to its feet;

once resolve stands firm, it will not sit again.

ولَم يَبقَ إلّا انصرافُ الدّجى

بِزُهرِ كَواكبه الخنَّسِ

Nothing remains but the departure of night,

bearing away its radiant, retreating stars,

وَمَحْوُ النّهار بكافورةٍ

من النور عنبرةَ الحندسِ

while day, with its camphor of light, effaces

the ambergris of darkness.

ألا غَفلَةٌ من رَقِيبٍ عَتِيدٍ

يُلاحِظنا نَظْرَةَ الأشوَسِ

If only an ever-ready watchman would lapse—

he eyes us with the glare of a fierce man—

فَنُهْدي على عَجَلٍ قُبْلَةً

إلى شَفَةِ الرّشأِ الألْعَسِ

so a kiss might make its way in haste

to the lip of the dark-lipped fawn.

غداً يَتَقَطّعُ أقْرَانُهُم

ويتّصِلُ السيرُ في البسبسِ

Tomorrow their bonds will be torn apart,

while the journey runs unbroken through the wilderness.

ويكلأ ذِمْرٌ على ضامرٍ

خبِيئَةَ خِدرٍ على عِرْمِسِ

A fierce guard on a lean mount will watch over

a treasure hidden in a curtained litter atop a massive she-camel.

ويصبحُ من وَصْلِ سلمى الغنيّ

يُقَلّبُ منه يَدَيْ مُفْلِسِ

Whoever enjoys union with Salma is attended by riches,

but at its loss he wrings the hands of a bankrupt.