أذابت قلبه الزفره — Kashajim — Saqi

The sigh melted his heart,
and the tear bloodied his cheek.
Can he hope for patience,
a lovesick man whose patience betrayed him?
His yearning is Hijazi,
and his heart is of the Banu ʿUdhra.
And a soul driven by the surge
of love into its depths,
for Juml, who recoiled from him,
until her aversion subsided.
And a gazelle visited me one day—
that visit was a barren hen's egg.
Every few days, he has
a departure into estrangement.
If she showed, in love,
faithfulness, he showed betrayal.
My brother, the vicissitudes of time
hold a lesson in their unfolding.
Calamities have turned my head gray,
and I did not grow gray from old age.
Yet I am the prophet of poetry,
come after an interval.
For if my enviers were fair,
they would see me a drop above them.
They sought my reach in poetry,
but covered not a hair's breadth.
How long will there be water within me,
of sorrows—no, an ember?
And, as has been said, there must
be a pause for the grateful.
And many a barren wilderness
we bridged with anguish,
toward a proud lord, lofty in renown,
in ambition and in power;
radiant in face and deeds,
in character and thought;
his honor stripped of disgrace,
his judgment safe from stumbling;
a shooting star of piercing light,
a keen sword with a cutting edge.
Upon him, against the sword of censure,
is a coat of mail made of his kindness.
He holds wealth cheap to fulfill hopes,
in scarcity and abundance.
Virtues never lacking an envier,
to whom they bequeath anguish.
May God choke whoever hates
what I said, with what he hates.
O youth with the most generous hand,
and lord of the noblest family!
And O you whom generosity saluted
in your lofty station as prince!
You have indeed fasted rightly,
and broken your fast in accord with innate faith;
and secured, with God's help,
the reward of Hajj and ʿUmrah.
So the festival brought, with good fortune,
to your heart what gladdened it.
Now then, O rain
of bounty, whose shower is delight:
for I have a singing girl like the full moon;
indeed, I have pockmarked her with a purse of money [unclear wording].
And I paid her dowry promptly,
lest the filly shy away.
And on the festival morning we said,
'Be with us early.'
And from the customary gift there must be
a crossing to its fullest measure.
And nothing dispels the pervading
grief but wine.
And in your house—may it never cease
to be sheltered from misfortunes—
is wine whose radiance is two lights,
red and yellow.
When the young gazelle carries it round,
he of the sidelocks and forelock,
you would think the full moon had circled
among the stars with Venus.
No, by God, O Ahmad,
no free woman buys me [reading uncertain].
And can a man be quenched, kept thirsty
a full month, by one bout of drunkenness?
I have taken liberties, for with
you I am safe from displeasure.
And live long! Her sister, lovely,
has come to you with her maidenhood.
If longing has stirred her,
a rebuke has surely frightened her,
as a torrent descends
from the lofty height, bearing a boulder.