حَيِّ مَغْنَى الْهَوَى بِوَادِي الشَّآمِ

وَادْعُ بِاسْمِي تُجِبْكَ وُرْقُ الْحَمَامِ

O harbinger of passion in the vale of Syria,

Call upon my name, and the doves will answer you,

هُنَّ يَعْرِفْنَنِي بِطُولِ حَنِينِي

بَيْنَ تِلْكَ السُّهُولِ وَالآكَامِ

Among those plains and hills,

For often have they echoed my chant,

فَلَقَدْ طَالَمَا هَتَفْنَ بِشَدْوِي

وَتَنَاقَلْنَ مَا حَلا مِنْ هُيَامِي

And shared the madness born of my infatuation,

And many a time have I walked, sick with love,

وَلَكَمْ سِرْتُ كَالنَّسِيمِ عَلِيلاً

أَتَقَرَّى مَلاعِبَ الآرَامِ

To visit the dwellings of the lovely maidens,

Clad in a cloak of sadness woven by the hands of love

فِي شِعَارٍ مِنَ الضَّنَى نَسَجَتْهُ

بِخُيُوطِ الدُّمُوعِ أَيْدِي الْغَرَامِ

With threads of tears.

Whenever I catch a glimpse of lightning, I open my lips

كُلَّمَا شِمْتُ بَارِقاً خِلْتُ ثَغْراً

بَاسِماً مِنْ خِلالِ تِلْكَ الْخِيَامِ

To breathe her beautiful name amid those tents.

Passion turns fiction into fact,

وَالْهَوَى يَجْعَلُ الْخِلاجَ يَقِينَاً

وَيَغُرُّ الْحَلِيمَ بِالأَوْهَامِ

And fools the wise with delusions.

My heart reflects fantasies,

خَطَرَاتُ لَهَا بِمِرْآةِ قَلْبِي

صُوَرٌ لا تَزُولُ كَالأَحْلامِ

That do not fade like dreams.

Whenever my imagination stirs,

مَا تَجَلَّتْ عَلَى الْمَخِيلَةِ إِلَّا

أَذْكَرَتْنِي مَا كَانَ مِنْ أَيَّامِي

It reminds me of bygone days,

That age has passed, but left behind

ذَاكَ عَصْرٌ خَلا وَأَبْقَى حَدِيثاً

نَتَعَاطَاهُ بَيْنَنَا كَالْمُدَامِ

Conversations we used to share, as the wine circulates.

Whenever my mind withdraws the veil of fantasy,

كُلَّمَا زَحْزَحَتْ بَنَانَةُ فِكْريَ

عَنْهُ سِتْرَ الْخَيَالِ لاح أَمَامِي

The past appears before me.

O breeze of the morn, I implore you, convey

يَا نَسِيمَ الصَّبَا فَدَيْتُكَ بَلِّغْ

أَهْلَ ذَاكَ الْحِمَى عَبِيرَ سَلامِي

To the people of that camp the scent of my greeting,

And visit them on my behalf, tell them of

وَاقْضِ عَنِّي حَقَّ الزِّيَارَةِ وَاذْكُرْ

فَرْطَ وَجْدِي بِهِمْ وَطُولَ سَقَامِي

My abundant love for them and my lingering sickness.

I will be content if they remember me with affection

أَنَا رَاضٍ مِنْهُمْ بِذُكْرَةِ وُدٍّ

أَوْ كِتَابٍ إِنْ لَمْ أَفُزْ بِلِمَامِ

Or send a letter, if I cannot meet them face to face.

They have made passion the sanctuary of my heart,

هُمْ أَبَاحُوا الْهَوَى حَرِيمَ فُؤَادِي

وَأَذَلُّوا لِلْعَاذِلِينَ خِطَامِي

And humbled my critics.

I miss them without meeting them,

أَتَمَنَّاهُمُ وَدُونَ التَّلاقِي

قُذُفَاتٌ مِنْ لُجِّ أَخْضَرَ طَامِي

Like the spuming waves of the verdant sea surge towards me.

The waves crash like stallions, leaping and frothing,

صَائِلُ الْمَوْجِ كَالْفُحُولِ تَرَاغَى

مِنْ هِيَاجٍ وَتَرْتَمِي بِاللُّغَامِ

And you can see the ships rising and falling like mountains,

Their banners and flags fluttering.

وَتَرَى السُّفْنَ كَالْجِبَالِ تَهَادَى

خَافِقَاتِ الْبُنُود وَالأَعْلامِ

Rising at times and dropping at others

Into the void between prairie and marsh.

تَعْتَلِي تَارَةً وَتَهْبِطُ أُخْرَى

فِي فَضَاءٍ بَيْنَ السُّهَا وَالرَّغَامِ

They charge like wild beasts, but cannot be reined in.

Each swing sways the people on them

هِيَ كَالدُّهْمِ جَامِحَاتٌ وَلَكِنْ

لَيْسَ يُثْنَى جِمَاحُهَا بِلِجَامِ

Bowing between standing and kneeling.

They do not awaken from the dizzying whirl,

كُلُّ أُرْجُوحَةٍ تَرَى الْقَوْمَ فِيهَا

خُشَّعَاً بَيْنَ رُكَّعٍ وَقِيَامِ

With hands clutching and breath coming fast.

They cry for help, their hearts quaking,

لا يُفِيقُونَ مِنْ دُوَارٍ فَهَاوٍ

لِيَدَيْهِ وَرَاعِفُ الأَنْفِ دَامِي

Fearing death, their eyes swimming,

Praying fervently, praising

يَسْتَغِيثُونَ فَالْقُلُوبُ هَوَافٍ

حَذَرَ الْمَوْتِ وَالْعُيُونُ سَوَامِي

The Omnipotent, the All-Knowing.

That is an ocean followed by an expanse of land

فِي وِعَاءٍ يَحْدُونَهُ بِدُعَاءٍ

لِجَلالِ الْمُهَيْمِنِ الْعَلَّامِ

Where the ghosts of the past wander like ostriches.

While my darkness is in Egypt, my heart

ذَاكَ بَحْرٌ يَلِيهِ بَرٌّ تَرَامَى

فِيهِ خُوصُ الْمَضِيِّ مِثْلَ النَّعَامِ

Languishes in Syria in the fetters of passion.

I fool myself with wishes, though my soul refuses,

فَسَوَادِي بِمِصْرَ ثَاوٍ وَقَلْبِي

فِي إِسَارِ الْهَوَى بِأَرْضِ الشَّآمِ

And fooling oneself nourishes people.

So when will time allow me to meet

أَخْدَعُ النَّفْسَ بِالْمُنَى وَهْيَ تَأْبَى

وَخِدَاعُ الْمُنَى غِذَاءُ الأَنَامِ

What I have missed of my hopes?

It is a friendship whose intimacy is like light

فَمَتَى يَسْمَحُ الزَّمَانُ فَأَلْقَى

بِشَكِيبٍ مَا فَاتَنِي مِنْ مَرَامِ

In the folds of a flowered cloak.

A true friend never violates a pact,

هُوَ خِلٌّ لَبِسْتُ مِنْهُ خِلالاً

عَبِقَاتٍ كَالنَّوْرِ فِي الأَكْمَامِ

But few among people rein in blame.

Righteousness joined us before we met,

صَادِقُ الْوُدِّ لا يَخِيسُ بِعَهْدٍ

وَقَلِيلٌ فِي النَّاسِ رَعْيُ الذِّمَامِ

With the breeze of spirits, not of bodies.

Through affection we reached what was not attained

جَمَعَتْنَا الآدَابُ قَبْلَ التَّلاقِي

بِنَسِيمِ الأَرْوَاحِ لا الأَجْسَامِ

By a lifetime of kinship and family ties.

So even if we are not together on earth, we are joined

وَبَلَغْنَا بِالْوُدِّ مَا لَمْ يَنَلْهُ

بِحَيَاةِ الْقُرْبَى ذَوُو الأَرْحَامِ

By the bond of passion and constancy of dwelling.

The communion of souls is a truer commitment

فَلَئِنْ لَمْ نَكُنْ بِأَرْضٍ فَإِنَّا

لاِتِّصَالِ الْهَوَى بِدَارِ مُقامِ

Than a meeting without permanence.

An insightful mind whose intuition perceives

وَائْتِلافُ النُّفُوسِ أَصْدَقُ عَهْدَاً

مِنْ لِقَاءٍ لَمْ يَقْتَرِنْ بِدَوَامِ

The unseen through the thinnest veil.

And a poet whose compositions poured like

أَلْمَعِيٌّ لَهُ بَدِيهَةُ رَأْيٍ

تُدْرِكُ الْغَيْبَ مِنْ وَرَاءِ لِثَامِ

The breath of zephyrs after the rain.

His poetry shook me and awakened

وَقَرِيضٌ كَمَا وَشَتْ نَسَمَاتٌ

بِضَمِيرِ الأَزْهَارِ إِثْرَ الْغَمَامِ

An idea that had only existed in my dreams.

I named it "words after if" and it gushed forth

هَزَّنِي شِعْرُهُ فَأَيْقَظَ مِنِّي

فِكْرَةً كَانَ حَظُّهَا فِي الْمَنَامِ

With little that did not quench thirst.

So accept from me what I could offer,

سُمْتُهَا الْقَوْلَ بَعْدَ لأْيٍ فَبَضَّتْ

بِيَسِيرٍ لَمْ يَرْوِ عُودَ ثُمَامِ

For much richness lies in less flamboyance.

Had I wanted to express my affection and longing,

فَارْضَ مِنِّي بِمَا تَيَسَّرَ مِنْهَا

رُبَّ ثَمْدٍ فِيهِ غِنىً عَنْ جِمَامِ

Language would not have sufficed.

I love you instinctively, not as something

وَلَوْ أَنِّي أَرَدْتُ شَرْحَ وِدَادِي

وَاشْتِيَاقِي لَضَاقَ وُسْعُ الْكَلامِ

That permits repeal or contraction.

When love is without motive,

أَنَا أَهْوَاكَ فِطْرَةً لَيْسَ فِيهَا

مِنْ مَسَاغٍ لِلنَّقْضِ وَالإِبْرَامِ

Its foundations are firmer than pillars.

So take my gratitude for your kindly affection,

وَإِذَا الْحُبُّ لَمْ يَكُنْ ذَا دَوَاعٍ

كَانَ أَرْسَى قَوَاعِداً مِنْ شَمَامِ

I am honored by this medal.

I will proudly display it, while others

فَتَقَبَّلْ شُكْرِي عَلَى حُسْنِ وُدِّ

رُحْتُ مِنْهُ مُقَلَّدَاً بِوِسَامِ

Boast of the jewels they are given.

May you always enjoy the comforts that grace

أَتَبَاهَى بِهِ إِذَا كَانَ غَيْرِي

يَتَبَاهَى بِزِينَةِ الإِنْعَامِ

The topmost branch of your noble tree.

دُمْتَ فِي نِعْمَةٍ تَرِفُّ حُلاهَا

فَوْقَ فَرْعٍ مِنْ طِيبِ أَصْلِكَ نَامِي