هل كَفْرَ كَنَّه مُرجْعٌ لي ذكرُها
ما فاتني من عنفوانِ شبابي
Is it blasphemy that his memory is a return to me
Of what I missed of the prime of my youth?
أمْ في صَباياها وفي رمّانِها
ما يبعثُ المدفونَ من آرابي
Or in her youthfulness and her pomegranates
That which resurrects the buried from their graves?
لو تنفعُ الذكرى ذكرتُ عشِيَّةً
زهراءَ بيْن كواعبٍ أترابِ
If memories were useful, I would have recalled one evening
Zahra among her dear companions
فيهنّ آسرةُ القلوب بحسنها
ودلالِها وحديثِها الخلاّبِ
Among them the captor of hearts with her beauty
And her flirtation and her enchanting talk
روحٌ أخفُّ من النَّسيم وخاطرٌ
كالبرقِ مقرونٌ بحسنِ جوابِ
A soul lighter than a breeze and a thought
Like lightning combined with eloquent speech
غرّ ثناياها وأشهد أَّنها
ممزوجةٌ رَشَفاتُها بشراب
The slopes of her cheeks intoxicated me and I bore witness that
Her sips were mixed with wine
نلقي أحاجيَ بيننا فتثيرنا
للضّحكِ خاطئةٌ وذاتُ صواب
We exchanged riddles between us that amused us
With mistakes that made us laugh and correct answers
ونردّد الأَلحانَ بينَ شجيَّةٍ
تُمري مدامعَنا وبيْن عِذابِ
And we recited melodies between a heartrending song
That brought our tears, and agony
ولقد نُعرّضُ باللِّقاء لموعدٍ
فيها ونُسْلكُها طريقَ عِتاب
We used to meet at an appointed time
Scolding her while taking her way
قمنا وقد سقط الندى وتزاحفتْ
سُجُفُ الغمام ثقيلةَ الأَهدابِ
We got up when the dew had fallen and the
Heavy, frowning clouds crept
تُخفي محيّا البدر ثمَّ تُبينه
عبثَ المليحة دوننا بنقاب
Hiding the beautiful moon then showing it
As she played with us from behind her veil
وجَفَتْ مضاجِعَها الجنوب وملؤها
خفقان مضطَرمِ الهوى وثّابِ
The hot winds dried her bedding
With the fluttering of passionate love
بتنا على صَفْوٍ وخوفِ تفرّقٍ
للعاشقين مُهيّئِ الأَسبابِ
We stayed in joy and fear of parting
For lovers who facilitate causes
نيسانُ هان علي حكُمك بالنَّوى
لما تحطّمت المنى في آب
April, your judgment of vows was easy
When wishes were shattered in August
يا ليتَ من فَجَعَتْ فؤادي بالنوى
لم تُبقِ لي ذكرى تُطيلُ عذابي
Oh how I wish she who saddened my heart with vows
Had not left me a memory that prolonged my torment
