ذكرتُ والقلبُ أَسيرُ الذِّكْرِ

ليلَةَ وَصْلٍ سَلَفَتْ مِنْ عمْرِي

I remembered, while my heart was captive to remembrance,

A night of union that slipped away from my life,

أَقْصَرُ من تجلُدي وصَبْري

رقَّت فكادت رقَّةً أَن تَجْرِي

Shorter than my patience and composure,

It softened until it almost melted away,

كأَنَها مخلوقةٌ من شِعْرِي

تفضُلُ عِنْدِي أَلْفَ أَلِف شَهْر

As if it was created from my poetry,

It exceeds with me a thousand months,

ما هي إِلاَّ خالُ وجْهِ الدَّهْرِ

فَضَحْتُ فيها بَدْرَها ببَدْرِي

It was nothing but the mole on the cheek of time,

In it I sacrificed its full moon with my full moon,

وبان فيها عذرُها وعُذْرِي

وبعْتُ فيها صحْوَتِي بسُكْرِي

And in it her excuse and my excuse became clear,

And in it I sold my sobriety for my intoxication,

منْ خَصِر الريق رقيقُ الخَصْرِ

أَحسنَ من سلْمَى وأُم عمرو

From the waist of delicate slenderness,

More beautiful than Salma and Umm Amro,

ذي مُقْلةٍ مل فترَتْ من فَتَرٍ

قد عُوضت من إِثْمِدٍ بالسِّحرِ

With languid eyes that turned away from turning away,

She was recompensed for Ethmid with magic,

واللهِ لو كانَ إِليَّ أَمْري

رميتُ كَسْرَ جَفْنِهَا بِجَبْرِ

By Allah, if my matter was up to me,

I would have healed the brokenness of her eyelids with healing,

لعلَّ أَن تَجْبُر مِني كَسْري

وبتُ أُخْفِي ضوءَ ذاك الثَّغْر

Perhaps it would heal my brokenness,

And I would hide the light of that smile,

كي لا أَرُوعَ لَيْلَتي بفَجْرِي

يا ليلةً قد أَسرفتْ في بِرِّي

So I don’t startle my night with my own dawn,

Oh night, you were excessive in blessing me,

مضَتْ ولم يمض عليها شُكْرِي

رُزِئت منها اليومَ خيرَ ذُخْرِي

You passed and my gratitude to you did not pass,

Today I was deprived of my best provision,

فأَعْظَمَ اللهُ عَلَيْهَا أَجْرِي

So may Allah increase your reward over me.