نظرت بكأسٍ ليس يصحو شاربه

نظرت بكأسٍ ليس يصحو شاربه

وقتاً فيسأل عنه كيف عواقبُه

وقتاً فيسأل عنه كيف عواقبُه

She gazed with a cup whose drinker never sobers—

She gazed with a cup whose drinker never sobers

not for even a moment, so that he might ask how it will end.

even for a moment, to ask what its consequences are.

وأراكَ معتكفاً عليه تلومُه

وأراكَ معتكفاً عليه تلومُه

فكأنك السكرانُ حين تعاقبُه

فكأنك السكرانُ حين تعاقبُه

And I see you bent over him, reproaching him,

And I see you intent upon him, reproaching him,

as though you were the drunken one when you punish him.

as though you were the drunkard when you punish him.

يكفيكَ ما حَملت له أجفانُها

يكفيكَ ما حَملت له أجفانُها

دعه فطاعنه هناكَ وضاربُه

دعه فطاعنه هناكَ وضاربُه

What her eyelids have brought against him is enough for you;

What her eyelids bore against him is enough for you.

leave him—for his stabber and assailant are already there.

Leave him; his piercer and his striker are there.

وانظر لنفسك في الخلاص فطرفُها ال

وانظر لنفسك في الخلاص فطرفُها ال

والي وحاجبها المزجّج حاجبُه

والي وحاجبها المزجّج حاجبُه

See to your own escape, for her glance is the

And seek your own escape, for her gaze is the

governor, and her penciled brow his chamberlain.

governor, and her finely tapered eyebrow his chamberlain.

ومقلّدٍ بالدرِّ أبكته النوى

ومقلّدٍ بالدرِّ أبكته النوى

ليكونَ جامدُه عليه وذائبُه

ليكونَ جامدُه عليه وذائبُه

And one bedecked with pearls, whom separation made weep,

And many a pearl-necklaced one was made to weep by parting,

so that both its solid and its liquid might rest upon him.

so that pearls, solid and liquid, might lie upon him.

إني لأعجبُ من بكائِك ما الذي

إني لأعجبُ من بكائِك ما الذي

يُبكيك من شيء وعزمك راكبُه

يُبكيك من شيء وعزمك راكبُه

Indeed, I marvel at your weeping—what is it

Indeed, I marvel at your weeping: what is it

that makes you weep, when your resolve bestrides it?

that makes you weep, when your resolve bestrides it?

ومضى يُسايِرُه الفراقُ وما هما

ومضى يُسايِرُه الفراقُ وما هما

إلا كما اجتمعَ الخراجُ وكاتبُه

إلا كما اجتمعَ الخراجُ وكاتبُه

He went on, separation keeping pace beside him; the two

And he went on, with parting at his side; the two were

were simply the land tax and its clerk together.

just like the land tax and its clerk brought together.

هذا تضيقُ به القلوبُ إذا أتت

هذا تضيقُ به القلوبُ إذا أتت

أوقاتُه أبداً ويثقلُ واجبُه

أوقاتُه أبداً ويثقلُ واجبُه

This constricts hearts whenever

The one makes hearts constrict whenever

its appointed times arrive; its due is forever heavy.

its appointed times arrive, and its due always weighs heavily.

ولحبِّ هذا في النفوس تصرُّف

ولحبِّ هذا في النفوس تصرُّف

وكأنه في كلِّ قلبٍ صاحبُه

وكأنه في كلِّ قلبٍ صاحبُه

Yet love of this man has gained dominion in souls,

But love of the other holds sway over souls,

as though in every heart he were its master.

as though he were the master of every heart.

قد قيلَ أفعال الرجال وجوهُها

قد قيلَ أفعال الرجال وجوهُها

وبها يخاطبُك الفتَى وتخاطبُه

وبها يخاطبُك الفتَى وتخاطبُه

It has been said: men’s deeds are their faces;

It has been said: men's deeds are their faces;

through them a young man addresses you, and you address him.

through them the young man speaks to you, and you to him.

ولأجل ذلك ما يسمّى باسمه

ولأجل ذلك ما يسمّى باسمه

حسناً ولم يلحقه إلا غاصبُه

حسناً ولم يلحقه إلا غاصبُه

For that reason, no one called by his name

And for that reason he is called by his name,

is truly Hasan; whoever bears it besides him merely usurps it.

Hasan; none shares it with him except a usurper.

ورأيتُه لمّا تفرّد بالندى

ورأيتُه لمّا تفرّد بالندى

سُدَّت على المتشبِّهينَ مذاهبُه

سُدَّت على المتشبِّهينَ مذاهبُه

And when I saw him stand alone in generosity,

And I saw that, when he became unrivaled in generosity,

its paths were closed against would-be imitators.

his paths were barred to those who would imitate him.

وقفت يداه في سبيل عَطائِه

وقفت يداه في سبيل عَطائِه

ما كان وارثه وما هو كاسبُه

ما كان وارثه وما هو كاسبُه

His hands were consecrated to the cause of giving—

His hands dedicated to the cause of his bounty

a bounty he neither inherited nor earned.

all he had inherited and all he had earned.