يا ليتني لَمَا شرب

تُ الكأءَ صِرْفاً لم أثَنِّ

Oh, would that when I drank

Pure water I hadn't praised it,

أو ليتني لَمّا انتشي

تُ من المدامةِ لم أغَنِّ

Or would that when I was delighted

By wine I hadn't sung!

أو أنَّني لَمّا وَرد

تُ صدرتُ قبل نضوبِ دنّي

Or would that when I arrived

At the spring I had left before it ran out,

أَو أنَّني لَمّا ارتوي

تُ تركتُ شيئاً للتمنّي

Or would that when I was sated

I had left something to yearn for!

بل ليتني لَمّا شمع

تُ الوردَ لم أقطفْ وَأجْن

But oh, would that when the rose bloomed

I hadn't plucked it or harvested,

أو ليتني لم أنتقلْ

في الروضِ من غصْنٍ لغصن

Or would that I hadn't moved

From branch to branch in the meadow!

فَلَقَدْ جريتُ معَ الشبا

بِ مشمِّراً ثوبي وَردني

For I have run with the youth

Tucking up my robe, driving me on,

وَطويتُ كَشْحاً عَنْ مقا

لةِ عاذلٍ وَسددتُ أُذني

And I have revealed secrets

To a reproacher and shut my ears.

ما كان أحوجني عَلى

خوضِ الغمار إلى التأنّي

If only when plunging into deep water

I had practiced restraint,

لم أنتفعْ يوماً بمل

مي في العواقب أو بظنّي

Never have I benefited from

My experience or my supposition

حتى صحوتُ قرعتُ من

ندمٍ عَلى الإِسرافِ سِنّي

Until I awoke, struck by

Regret over my excess in my years.

لكنَّني ما زلتُ من

سحرِ الجمال أصوغ لجني

But still I cannot resist

The sorcery of beauty, and it still lures me;

لي في مواكبِه فؤا

دٌ ضعتُ منه وَضاع منّي

In its processions I have

Squandered gifts and lost myself.

كَمْ بتُّ رهنَ هواه في

كفِّ الجمالِ وَبات رهني

How long have I remained hostage

To the charm of beauty, and it kept me hostage!

وَروَيتُ عنه من الرَّوا

ئعِ ما رواه النّاسُ عنّي

And I have reported of it

What people reported of me.

وَملأْتُ عيني منه حتّى

لا يطيق الغمضَ جفني

And I have filled my eyes with it until

My eyelids could no longer close,

وَنعمتُ من أفيائِه

وَظلالهِ بجنانِ عدن

And I have delighted in its

Meadows and shade, gardens of Eden.

ملكٌ وَمن عجبٍ له

في كل نفسٍ سحرُ جنّي

A wondrous king whose

Sorcery captivates every soul!

ويشوقني أنْ أجتلي

ه عَلى التمنُّعِ والتجنّي

And it makes me yearn to reveal

Myself despite my aloofness and avoidance.

وكأنَّ شوقي حين لا

يشفي بصدري نار ضغن

It's as if when my longing provides

No relief for the fire in my chest,

الحلوُ يجرح والدلا

لُ عَلى ملاحتِه يعنّي

The sweetness wounds me, and the

Grace, for all its tartness, consoles me,

وكرامةً لسهامِه

نَحَّيْتُ عن قلبي مجنّي

And out of respect for its arrows

I removed my heart, though it pierced me.

فإذا بقلبي بيت نا

رٍ وَهو محرابي وَركني

Then I found my heart was a house of

Fire, my sanctuary and pillar!

فجعلته ليَ قِبلةً

وَلوجهِهِ أخلصتُ فنّي

So I made it my qibla,

And to its face I dedicated my art.