تجنى لواحظُه وتسْتعْدِي

أَو ما علمتَ تمرُّد المُرْدِ

You reap the fruits of his affection, yet still crave more,

Or have you not known the rebellion of one pampered?

ظَلْمٌ لريقِ فمٍ شهدت له

أَن المُجَاجَةَ منه كالشَّهْدِ

It is injustice to the mouth that praised him

That you should treat him harshly after tasting his sweetness.

بأَبي مليحٌ مُذْ كلِفتُ بِهِ

بعْتُ الهوى وزَهِدت في الزُّهدِ

By my father, since I was burdened with passion for him,

I have sold my desires and renounced even renunciation.

شاكِي سلاحِ الحُسْنِ منفردٌ

وكأَنَّه يلقاك في جُندِ

I complain of the torment of his beauty while alone,

As if I would meet him with an army.

الوردُ وجنتُه وقد شَرُفَتْ

عن أَنْ تخوُن خيانَة الوَرْدِ

The rose and its garden though they seemed ready

To betray the secrets of roses.

والعِقد مَبْسِمُه ولستَ تَرَى

في السِّلْكِ منه زُمُرُّدَ العِقْد

The necklace and its smile though you cannot see

Among its beads the precious gems of necklaces.

أَصفُ الحبيبَ ولستُ أُبْصره

وكذاك تُوصف جنَّةُ الخُلْدِ

I describe the beloved though I do not see him,

Just so is described the eternal Garden.

ضايقْتني يا دهرُ في قَمَرِي

فأَخذتَهُ وتركْتَني وَحْدِي

O fate, you have straitened me through my moon,

Taking him and leaving me alone.

عَهْدي وعانقني وقلتُ له

لا كان هذا آخرَ العهْد

I bade him farewell and embraced him, saying,

“May this be the last farewell!”

ومدامِعِي تَجْرِي على يدِهِ

ودموعُه تجري على خدِّي

My tears flow down his hand,

And his tears flow down my cheek.

بَيْنٌ خرجتُ عليه من جَلَدِي

ولئن رجعْتُ خرجْتُ عن خَلدِي

Evident is my transgression of proper bounds,

And if I return, I have abandoned eternity.

ولقد وقْفتُ على منازِلِه

أَرأَيتَ عارِضَهُ على الخدِّ

I stood at his dwellings,

Did you see his likeness imprinted on my cheek?

ولقد أَتيتُ لها على ثِقةٍ

ولقد رجعتُ بخجْلَةِ الرَّد

I approached it confidently,

Yet returned in shame at being spurned.

أَخفى التفرُّقَ أَهْلها فغَدَتْ

تُبْدِي الغرامَ بهم كما أُبْدِي

Its people concealed their separation, so it began

To display its love, as I display mine.

سِرْتُم وسارَ القلبُ يتبعُكُمْ

ليرَى خيامكُمُ على بُعْدِ

You walked away secretly, and my heart followed

To see your tents in the distance.

وطردْتُموه ولم يَعُد خَجلاً

لا القلبُ عِندكُمُ ولا عِنْدِي

You dismissed it, no longer feeling shame.

Neither my heart remains with you, nor yours with me.

هذا حديثي بعدكُم فَتَرَى

يا قومُ كيفَ حديثُكم بَعْدِي

This, my discourse after you, so you see

My people, how your discourse is after me.

يا جاحِدي سَقَمِي بعزَّتِه

أَو ما سَمِعْتَ شهادة الشَّهْدِ

O you who deny my sickness, by his dignity!

Or have you not heard the testimony of sweetness?

تَدْرِي غرامِي ثُم تُنكِرُهُ

وتريدُ تُخْرِجُني بلا حمْدِ

You know my passion, yet you deny it,

Seeking to cast me out without praise.

شاع الغرامُ وشابَ من كلَفي

رأْسي وأَنهجَ في الهَوَى بُرْدِي

Passion spread and my infatuation grew

White are my temples and cold my mantle.

وكما يَشَا كَلَفي تفضَّل بي

ولقد تعرَّض لي من المَهْدِ

However my infatuation decrees my state,

It has exposed me since the cradle.

مبدا غَرَامِي فيك عن خطا

ولَجَاجُ قلبي فيك عن عَمَد

The source of my passion for you is not error,

But my stubborn heart intentional in its persistence.