رَأَيتُ بِجَنبِ الخَيفِ هِنداً فَراقَني
لَها جيدُ ريمٍ زَيَّنَتهُ الصَرائِمُ
Beside the tent I saw a maiden who then left me,
She has a smooth cheek adorned with moles,
وَذو أُشُرٍ عَذبٌ كَأَنَّ نَباتَهُ
جَنى أُقحُوانٍ نَبتُهُ مُتَناعِمُ
And a sweet mouth as if its vegetation
Were nourished by spring rains in fertile soil.
نَظَرتُ إِلَيها بِالمُحَصَّبِ مِن مِنىً
وَلي نَظَرٌ لَولا التَحَرُّجُ عارِمُ
I looked at her from Mina with desire
My looks would have been indecent, were it not for my self-restraint.
فَقُلتُ أَشَمسٌ أَم مَصابيحُ بَيعَةٍ
بَدَت لَكَ تَحتَ السِجفِ أَم أَنتَ حالِمُ
I said, “Is it the sun or lamps from the vale of Bai’a
That seemed to rise to you from below the tent, or are you dreaming?”
مُهَفهَفَةٌ غَرّاءُ صُفرٌ وِشاحُها
وَفي المِرطِ مِنها أَهيَلٌ مُتَراكِمُ
She was a fawn, yellow is her veil,
And in the headcloth were snaky curls.
بَعيدَةُ مَهوى القُرطِ إِمّا لِنَوفَلٍ
أَبوها وَإِمّا عَبدُ شَمسٍ وَهاشِمُ
She is of a far lineage—of Nawfal
Or a servant of Hashim—never of Abd Shams.
وَمَدَّ عَلَيها السَجفَ يَومَ لَقيتُها
عَلى عَجَلٍ تُبّاعُها وَالخَوادِمُ
The day I met her she had stretched over her
A camel-litter, while slave girls walked beside.
فَلَم أَستَطِعها غَيرَ أَن قَد بَدا لَنا
عَشِيَّةَ راحَت كَفُّها وَالمَعاصِمُ
I could not get near her, though at evening we found
Her caravan halting, and the litters being lowered.
مَعاصِمُ لَم تَضرِب عَلى البَهمِ بِالضُحى
عَصاها وَوَجهٌ لَم تَلُحهُ السَمائِمُ
Litters whose carriers at dawn never struck the camels
With their staffs, and a face the winds never blew on.
نَضيرٌ تَرى فيهِ أَساريعَ مائِهِ
صَبيحٌ تُغاديهِ الأَكُفُّ النَواعِمُ
A lovely gazelle you would see among them
A morning whose soft hands the zephyrs were fondling.
إِذا ما دَعَت أَترابَها فَاِكتَنَفنَها
تَمايَلنَ أَو مالَت بِهِنَّ المَآكِمُ
When she called her companions they pressed about her,
Swaying as she swayed, or following where she led.
طَلَبنَ الصِبا حَتّى إِذا ما أَصَبنَهُ
نَزَعنَ وَهُنَّ المُسلِماتُ الظَوالِمُ
They sought the brethren of the east wind until when
They had found his brethren their veils slipped from them.
فَذَكَّرتُها داءً قَديماً مُخامِراً
تَقَطَّعَ مِنهُ إِن ذَكَرنَ الحَيازِمُ
I reminded her of a chronic malady
That breaks afresh when the censors are harsh.
وَقُربُكِ لا يُجدى عَلَيَّ وَنَأيُكُم
جَوىً داخِلٌ في القَلبِ يا هِندُ لازِمُ
“Your nearness profits me naught, and your distance
Is a piercing inner pain, O maiden of Hind!”
فَإِن بِنتِ كَدَّرتِ المَعاشَ صَبابَةً
وَإِن تَصقَبي فَالقَلبِ حَيرانُ هائِمُ
If the daughter of Kaddar has troubled my life
And if she is absent my heart is desolate, wandering.
وَقَد زَعَمَت أَنَّ الَّذي وَجَدَت بِنا
مُقيمٌ لَنا في أَسوَدِ القَلبِ دائِمُ
And she claimed that what she found in me
Would remain fixed in my heart, ever present.
