بِبُرْقةِ ثغرٍ لا ببرقَةِ ثَهْمَد

ذكرتُ غَرامِي أَو نسيت تجلُّدي

With the flash of a smiling mouth, not the flash of frown,

I recalled my passion or forgot my composure.

ولم تعتدِ الأَعداءُ فيَّ وإِنَّما

عَدَا بظُبا الأَلحاظِ ظَبْيُ بَنِي عَدِي

The enemies did not attack me, rather

The gazelle of tender glances attacked the son of Adi.

ومن دُونِ شُرب العيِن من ماءِ وجهه

ولم تَرْوَ مِنْه شربُ ماءِ المهنَّدِ

Without drinking from the fountain of his face,

You will not be quenched by the water of springs.

وكم مِنْ شهيدٍ عنده شَهِدت له

شواهدُ خدٍّ بالدِّمَاءِ مورَّدِ

How many martyrs in his presence have I witnessed,

Whose cheeks were watered by blood.

فلا تَحرِموا التقبيلَ منِّي أَجْرَه

فما قصدهُ إِلا زيارةُ مَشْهَد

Do not deprive me of kissing him of its reward,

For my only intention was visiting the tomb.

متى تأْتِه تَعشُو إِلى نار خدِّه

تجد خيرَ نارٍ عِنْدَها خَيْرُ مُوقِد

Whenever you come to him at night to the fire of his cheek,

You will find the best fire near the best kindler.

وليس عِذاراً ما رأَيتُ وإِنَّه

دُخَانٌ لندِّ الخال في جَمْرَة النَّدِ

It is not an excuse what I saw, though

It is the smoke of the cheek's ember in the fire of irritation.

تَلثَّمَ كَيْ يخْفَى علَى النّاسِ أَمرُه

فَلاحَ لنَا منْ عيْنِه عينُ أَمْردِ

He kissed me so the people would not know his affair,

So nothing of his eye was revealed to us stripped bare.

وقلت له أَدِّ الزكاةَ لأَهلِها

فوجْهُك مُثرٍ من لُجينٍ وعسْجَدِ

I told him: "Pay the alms tax to its people,"

For your face overflows with smoothness and tenderness.

وقفتُ على دار الحبيبِ تُجيبني

صَداها وهل يَروي الصَّدَى غُلَّة الصدى

I stood at the habib’s house answering me

Its echo, and does the echo quench the thirst of the echo?

قطعتُ إِليها بالسُّرى ظهرَ مَهْمهٍ

يُقطِّعُ صبْرَ الحازِمِ المتجلِّد

I walked there with resolve, though the difficulty

Would break the patience of the resolute.

تشكَّى بها الريُح الكلالَ كما اشتَكَت

عليها الدرارِي أَنَّها ليس تَهْتَدِي

The winds complained of weariness to it,

As the wild cows complained that they cannot find their way.

وقصَّر فيها الخوفُ خَطْوَ أُسُودها

فيمشي بها الضِّرغام مشي المقيَّد

Fear shortened its steps before it,

So the hyenas walked toward it fettered.

إِلى معهدٍ ما زال عَهْدِي بربْعِه

كِناساً لظبي أَو سماءً لفرقَد

To a refuge whose covenant to its expanse

Was like the nest of a gazelle or the sky to the planets.

ذكرتُ به عيشاً رقيقاً مساعداً

بوصل حبيب كان أَعظمَ مُسْعِد

I recalled therein an easy, blessed life

With the company of the beloved who was most blessed.

أَقَلُّ الذي يُولِيه تَسْكِينُ لوعةِ

وأَيسرُ ما يُسديه إِنجازُ مَوْعِدِ

The least of what calms the agony of longing for him

Is the easiest fulfillment of the promise.

وليلةَ بِتْنا بعد سُكْرَى وسُكرِه

نَبَذْتُ وِسَادي ثمّ وسَّدتُه يَدِي

One night we slept drunk with intoxication,

I flung my pillow then pressed it with my hand.

وباتَتْ يدي الأُخرى وِشاحاً فتارةً

لخصْرٍ وطوراً فهْي عقد المقلَّد

While my other hand remained a wrap, loosely binding

A waist, and at times a knot to the necklace.

وبتْنا كجسمٍ واحدٍ من عِنَاقِنا

وإِلاَّ كحرفٍ في الكلام مشدَّد

We slept as one body from our embrace,

Else like a letter doubled in speech.

وإِنِّي لسكرانُ الهوى فيه لم يَزَلْ

يُوَافِيهِ منِّي كلُّ لَثْمٍ مُعَرْبِد

And I am drunk with passion—he did not cease

To meet me with every fervent kiss.

مَقيلُ العُلاَ في ذلك البيتِ مِثْلَمَا

مناخ النَّدى والجودِ في ذلك النَّدِي

The shelter of glory in that house was like

The resting place of dew and generosity in that valley.

إِذا ما ادَّعى الأَقوامُ مجداً فمجدُه

وِرَاثَتُه عن سِّيدٍ بعد سيِّد

When the people claim glory, his glory

Is inherited from a master after master.

ولا عيبَ فيه غيرَ فخرٍ لقَوْمِه

قديمٍ وبَذْلٍ من يديه مجدَّد

He has no shortcoming but pride for his people

Ancient, and generosity from his hands made new.

لقد خِلْتُه لما تفرَّدَ سَالِكاً

إِلى المجدِ يَخْشَى وحشةَ المتفرِّد

I blamed him when he walked alone

To glory, fearing the loneliness of the solitary.

تملُّ عطاياه النفوسُ كما نبا

عن السَّمْع ترديدُ الكلامِ المردَّدِ

His gifts wear out souls, as the repeated

Reciting of words wearies hearing.

له قلمٌ إِن لاح بالنقشِ كاتباً

فما هُو إِلا كالحُسَام المجرَّدِ

In his hands is a pen—if it appears writing,

It is nothing but a polished sword.

كأَنَّ خِلالَ الطِّرسِ بين سُطورِه

مباسمُ دُرٍّ في شِفاه زَبرْجَد

As if the twists of script between its lines

Were smiles of pearls in lips of chrysolite.

يؤاتيك بالسِّحر المحلَّلِ هاجراً

طرائقَ تعقيدِ الكلامِ المُعقَّدِ

It comes to you with unravelled sorcery, departing

From the convoluted ways of complex speech.

فضائلُ معشوقِ الكلامِ محسَّنٍ

وحلية مغبوطِ الخلال مجسَّدِ

The virtues of the beloved of ornate speech embodied,

And the adornment of the envied epitome visualized.

ليحُسن ما يأْتي به اليوم طبعُه

وأَحسْنُ منه ما يجيئُك في غدِ

So his nature will perfect what he does today,

And more perfect than it is what will come tomorrow.