يا دَمع إِن سرّي تبح
وَدّع حَياتَك وَاِستَرح
O tears, if you divulge my secret,
bid farewell to life, and rest.
وَاِعلَم بِأَنَّك يا مصو
ن الوَجد منّي مُفتَضح
And know that you, O guarded...
...passion, stand exposed through me.
إِن جلَّ شَأني حلّ في
شَرع الهَوى أَن يَنسَفح
If the full gravity of my plight falls under...
...the law of love, then let it pour forth.
وَلَقَد أَقول للائمي
غادر فَسادك تَنصلِح
Indeed, I say to my reproacher:
“Leave your corruption, and you will be set right.”
يا عاذِلي أَنت النصو
حُ لَبئس نصح المُنتَصح
O you who blame me, claiming sincere counsel—
wretched is the counsel of one who heeds you.
ما أَنتَ في أَهل الضَلا
لَة عَن هُداي بِمُنتَزح
Among the people of error, you are not...
...far removed from the guidance I follow.
كلٌّ بِما مَلَكَت يَدا
هُ لَدى الهَوى مِنّا فَرِح
Each of us, in what his two hands possess...
...in love, rejoices.
مِحَن الهَوى منح لَدي
يَ وَعزّ مِثلي مَن مُنِح
Love’s ordeals are gifts to me;
rare indeed is one like me upon whom they are bestowed.
خسر العَذول وَإِنَّما
أَنا مَن بِصَفقَتِهِ ربِح
The reproacher has lost, whereas...
...I am the one who profited by the bargain.
فَالحُبّ خَير تِجارةٍ
لِلخَير إِن تكُ تَجتَرِح
For love is the finest trade,
if goodness is what you would earn.
بِأَبي أَخا الرَشَأ الرَبي
ب وَإِنَّهُ لَبِهِ سَمَح
May my father be ransom for the well-nurtured fawn’s peer—
and surely the heart gives itself freely to him.
ظبي مِن الأَتراك قَد
تَرك الحَرائر تفتضح
A gazelle among the Turks has...
...left noblewomen exposed to shame.
يا أَيُّها الفتان فَت
تاك الفُؤاد المُقتَرح
O spellbinder, ravager...
...of the kindled heart!
أَزح القِناع وَقلب ذا ال
عاني القَنوع بِهِ أَرِح
Draw aside the veil, and bring the heart of this...
...contented sufferer ease.
وَاِمرح لَدى هزّ القَنا
تيهاً بِقدّك وَاِمترِح
Prance where the lances sway;
flaunt your stature proudly and exult.
وَاِعطف عَلَيَّ بِنَظرة
كَيما أُسرّ وَأنشرِح
Turn kindly toward these two ailing eyes with a glance,
that I may rejoice and open into gladness.
وَاِمنَح محبّك قائِلاً
صبّح صَبوحك وَاِصطَبِح
And grant your lover this, saying:
“Take your morning draught—drink at dawn.”
عادلت قَدّك بِالغُصو
نِ فَكانَ رجح
I matched your stature against the...
...branch; yours proved weightier.
يا بُلبل الأَشواق من
قَلبي عَلى ذا الغُصن صِح
O nightingale of longing, from...
...my heart, sing out upon this branch.
وَاِنشد مَدائح من بِهِ
غرر المَدائح اِمتَدِح
Chant the praises of the one through whom...
...the choicest panegyrics themselves are praised.
أَعني بِهِ حسن المَود
داتِ الَّتي لَم تَنطَرِح
I mean the one whose affections are fair—
affections that have never been cast aside—
المُرتَقي فَلك المَعا
رف لِلمَغالق مُفتتِح
the one ascending the sphere of...
...knowledge, opener of all that is locked.
كَالنجم ثاقب رَأيه
أَو كَالزِناد المُقتدح
His judgment pierces like a star,
or like fire kindled from steel.
هُوَ مفحم البلغا برق
قةِ شِعرهِ السَلس السَرِح
He silences the eloquent through the delicacy...
...of his smooth, free-flowing verse.
وَمَديد وافر حلمه
بِبَسيط علم مُنسَرِح
Far-reaching and abundant is his forbearance;
his knowledge spreads across a broad expanse.
كَم جاءَ بِالحِكمِ الَّتي
متن العُقول بِها شرح
How many wise sayings he has brought, through which...
...the depths of minds are laid bare.
صرفت لِنَحو بَيان من
طقهِ المَعاني تَتَّضح
I turn to the eloquence of...
...his speech, in which meanings grow clear.
يا أَيُّها الخلُّ الوَفي
يُ الصاحب الودّ الصَرح
O faithful intimate friend—
companion of frank and pure affection—
هَل غَير قَلبي لِلنَوى
بِسِهام بعدك قَد جرِح
has any heart but mine been wounded by calamities...
...with the arrows of your distance?
أَوّاه مِن أَلَم النَوى
أَوّاه مِن أَمر فَدح
Alas for the pain of separation!
Alas for so crushing a matter!
أَسَفاً لِبعدك في يَد ال
برحاء خِلّكَ ما بَرح
What grief: since you went far away, in the grip of...
...torment your friend has remained.
آهاً عَلى زَمَن مَضى
بِاللَهو وَالعَيش السنح
Ah, for a time gone by,
amid diversion and an easy life.
قَد كانَ دَهري غافِلاً
وَالأنس ناظِره طمح
My days once knew no care,
while companionship’s gaze aspired high.
ما كُلّ مُجتَرئٍ عَلى
نَيل الأَماني مُجتَرح
Not everyone who ventures toward...
...the winning of desires attains them,
إِلّا إِذا أَمَر اللبَي
ب بِما يُؤمّلهُ نَجح
unless God commands it—
...then he succeeds in what he hopes.
يا غائِباً وَجَميل صَب
ري بَعد فرقتهِ قبح
O absent one, the lovely patience...
...I bore after your parting has turned ugly.
وَاللَه إِنّي لَم أَكُن
لِوَثيق عَهدك مطَّرِح
By God, I was never...
...one to cast off your binding covenant.
لَكن مَقادير القَضا
ءِ تحكّم الدَهر الوتح
But the decrees of fate...
...govern this wretched age.
