1. يَا لذَّةَ الحُلمِ في إِغفاءَةِ الوَسَنِ

    تَحكِي جُفونَ بَناتِ الرُّومِ في وَهَن

    O delight of dreaming in a doze of drowsiness,

    you resemble the languid eyelids of Roman maidens.

  2. قد بتُّ أقطعُ ليلَ السُّهدِ في فِكَرٍ

    تَترَى علَىَّ بِلاَ هَمٍّ ولا شَجَنِ

    I spent the night traversing sleeplessness amid thoughts

    that came upon me in succession, without worry or sorrow.

  3. مَدَدتُ مِن شُفرِ أَجفَانِي حَبَائٍِلَها

    أصطَادُ طيفَ الكرَى حتَّى تَصَيَّدَنِي

    From the rims of my eyelids I stretched out their snares,

    hunting the phantom of slumber until it ensnared me.

  4. رَأيتُنِي فِي مَكَانٍ لَستُ أجهَلُهُ

    لو كنتُ أعرِفُهُ قَبلاً ولم أَكُنِ

    I saw myself in a place I would not have found unfamiliar,

    had I known it before—but I had not.

  5. فِي مَحفَلٍ بِوُجوهِ الحُسنِ مُزدَهِرٌ

    أَشهى وَأبهى مِنَ الحَلواءِ في الصُّحُنِ

    In a gathering blooming with beautiful faces,

    more enticing and splendid than sweets upon plates.

  6. تَنَاشَدُوا مِن بَدِيعِ الشِّعرِ عَالِيَهُ

    كَما تَسَاجَعُ أطيارٌ عَلَى غُصُنِ

    They recited to one another the finest of exquisite poetry,

    as birds exchange their songs upon a branch.

  7. وَقد تَصَدَّرَ هُم شَيخٌ إزَاءَ فَتًى

    قَد ظَلَّ منهُ بطَرفِ اللَّحظِ يَرمُقُنِي

    A sheikh had taken the foremost seat among them, opposite a young man.

    He kept watching me from there with a sidelong glance.

  8. رَأَيتُ رَابعَ عَقدِ العُمرِ وَدَّعَهُ

    ولم يَزَل يافعاً فِي وَجهِهِ الحَسِن

    I saw that he had bid farewell to life's fourth decade,

    yet was still youthful in his handsome face.

  9. يُجِيلُ مَجدَ لِحاظٍ سِحرُ ناظِرِها

    يَبدو كَآثارِ نَعمَاءٍ عَلى دِمَنِ

    He casts glorious glances; the magic of their gaze

    appears like traces of prosperity on abandoned campsites.

  10. وقد تَزَمَّلَ في كوخِ النَّسَائِج مِن

    ثَوبِ حَرِيرٍ إِلى صُوفٍ إِلى قُطُنِ

    And he had wrapped himself in a hut of woven fabrics, from

    a garment of silk to wool to cotton.

  11. فبانَ مِن بَينهمِ والطَّرفُ يَجمَعُهم

    في نَظرةٍ وبهِ لَمَّا يُمَرِّيني

    He stood out among them, while my gaze gathered them all

    in one glance, leaving me no doubt about him,

  12. كَدَوحةٍ بينَ أفوافِ الزُّهُورِ لها

    منَ البَها ما لها فِي عَينِ مُفتَتَنِ

    like a spreading tree among patterned arrays of flowers, with

    all its splendor in an enthralled beholder's eye.

  13. كَأنَّهُ شَيخُ بَدوٍ حَلَّ في مُدُنٍ

    وأنتَ تعرفُ شيخَ البَدوِ في المُدُنِ

    He was like a Bedouin sheikh who had settled in cities,

    and you know what a Bedouin sheikh is like in cities.

  14. لَبيتُ داعي الفُضولِ في التَّساؤُلِ إذ

    إنَ الفُضُولَ مع السُّؤالِ في رَسَنِ

    I answered curiosity's summons to inquire, for

    curiosity and questioning share a halter.

  15. فسِرتُ نحو فتًى مِن غيرِ مَعرفَةٍ

    وقُلتُ مَن ذا فقال النَّاصِري اليَمنِي

    So I walked toward a young man I did not know,

    and asked, "Who is that?" He said, "Al-Nasiri al-Yamani."

  16. أَهلاً بمُتعَةِ رُوحي قُلتُ مُبتَهِجاً

    وقُمتُ عانَقتُهُ شَوقاً وعَانَقَني

    "Welcome, delight of my soul!" I said, rejoicing,

    and rose and embraced him longingly, and he embraced me.

  17. أَهلاً بخَيرِ أديبٍ سَيِّدٍ سَنَدٍ

    مُستَظرَفٍ كَيِّس سَمحٍ نَهٍ ذَهِنٍ

    "Welcome, finest man of letters, master and mainstay,

    charming, discerning, generous, wise, quick-witted!

  18. مَاذا دعَاكَ إلى نُكرانِ مَعرِفَتي

    وأنتَ أنتَ صَديقُ السِّرِّ والعَلَنِ

    What made you deny knowing me,

    when you—you—are my friend in private and in public?"

  19. فقَال إن كَان حَالي مَا اكتفيتُ بهَا

    فانظُر فإنَّكَ ذُو عَينٍ وذُو أُذُنِ

    He said, "If my condition has not been enough for you,

    then look: you have an eye and an ear.

  20. لَقد دَعَونِي لأَمرٍ كنت أحسَبهُ

    يَأتي على غَيرِ مَأتَى المَيتِ في الكَفَنِ

    They summoned me for a matter I thought

    would come otherwise than a dead man comes in his shroud.

  21. وما أضَرَّ بِقَلبي غيرُ فُرقَةِ مَن

    فِراقُهُ كَفِراقِ الرُّوحِ لِلبَدَنِ

    Nothing has hurt my heart except parting from one

    parting from whom is like the soul's parting from the body.

  22. خَلَّفتهُ بِرِبَاطِ الفَتحِ مُنتَظِري

    يا مَن بِقُربِ رِباطِ الفَتحِ يَطرَحُني

    I left him in Rabat al-Fath, awaiting me—

    O for someone to set me down near Rabat al-Fath!

  23. لَو كنتَ تُبصِرُهُ والعُودُ فِي يَدِهِ

    لَبِعتَ دُنياكَ والأُخرى بِلا ثَمَنِ

    If you could see him, the oud in his hand,

    you would sell your world and the next for nothing.

  24. إذا شَدَا قلتُ شُحرورُ الغُصونِ شَدا

    لَو أنَّ شُحرورَ غُصنٍ قُدَّ مِن غُصنِ

    When he sang, I said, 'The blackbird of the branches sings—

    if a branch's blackbird could be hewn from a branch!'"

  25. فَقلتُ هَوِّن فما في الأمرِ مِن حَرَجٍ

    عَيشٌ بلا مِحَنٍ شَرٌّ مِنَ المِحَنِ

    So I said, "Take it easy; there is no distress in this:

    a life without trials is worse than trials.

  26. ألمَرءُ فِي حَزَنٍ لا بُدَّ مِن فَرَحٍ

    لَهُ وفِي فَرَحٍ لاَ بُدَّ من حَزَنِ

    For a person in sorrow, some joy is inevitable

    for him; and in joy, some sorrow is inevitable."

  27. يَروعُ مَخبَرُهُ مِن قبلِ مَنظَرِهِ

    كَأَنهُ قِصَّةٌ فِي سَالِفِ الزَّمَنِ

    His inner character awes even before his outward appearance,

    as though he were a tale from bygone times.

  28. لَبيتُ دَعوَتَهُم وَالشَّوقُ يَجذِبُنِي

    وَجِئتُ أقطَعُ أَرضَ السَّهلِ وَالحَزَنِ

    I answered their invitation, with longing drawing me,

    and came, crossing the land of plains and rugged ground.

  29. لكن بحَقِّكَ مَن هَذا الَّذي بِه صَا

    رَ القَلبُ منكَ حَليفَ الشَّجوِ والشَّجنِ

    But, by your honor, who is this through whom

    your heart became an ally of grief and sorrow?

  30. وَراعَنِي مِنهُ دَمعٌ كَادَ يَغسِلُنِي

    أَعُوذُ بِاللهِ من آثَامِ ذِي الظُنَنِ

    And tears from him startled me, almost washing over me.

    I seek refuge in God from the sins of one who harbors suspicions.

  31. وكادَ دَمعُهُ يَجري مِن مَحَاجِرِهِ

    وَلو جَرى لَجَرى كَالعَارِضِ الهَتِنِ

    And his tears nearly flowed from his eye sockets,

    and had they flowed, they would have streamed like a cloud pouring rain.