هَجَرتُ الهَوى أيما هَجْرَه

هَجَرتُ الهَوى أيما هَجْرَه

وعفت الغواني والخَمْرَهْ

وعفت الغواني والخَمْرَهْ

I forsook love—what a forsaking!

I estranged love however much estrangement,

And shunned beautiful women and wine.

And I was chaste from wine and music.

لَوَتْني عن وصلها سَكْرة

لَوَتْني عن وصلها سَكْرة

بكأس الضنا أيّما سكْرَهْ

بكأس الضنا أيّما سكْرَهْ

A drunken stupor turned me from union with her,

If only drunkenness from her union left me,

From sickness’s cup—what a stupor!

However much drunkenness from a cup of sorrow.

وبنتُ المنية تنتابني

وبنتُ المنية تنتابني

هدوّاً وتطرقني سُحْرهْ

هدوّاً وتطرقني سُحْرهْ

And the daughter of death visits me

And death's daughters began to afflict me

In the still of night, and comes to me before dawn.

Gently, and they practiced their sorcery on me.

إذا وردتْ لم تَزَعْ وردَها

إذا وردتْ لم تَزَعْ وردَها

عن القلب حجبٌ ولا سترهْ

عن القلب حجبٌ ولا سترهْ

When she arrives, her approach is not barred

When she came she did not remove her roses

From the heart by barriers or a veil.

From my heart, neither veils nor curtains.

كأن لها ضرماً في الحشى

كأن لها ضرماً في الحشى

وفي كل عضو لها جَمْرهْ

وفي كل عضو لها جَمْرهْ

As though she had a blaze in my entrails,

It was as if she had embers in my breast

And an ember in every limb.

And for each limb of mine she had a live coal.

إذا لم تَرُحُ أصلا في العشى

إذا لم تَرُحُ أصلا في العشى

فأقصى مواعدها بكرهْ

فأقصى مواعدها بكرهْ

If she does not visit at all in the evening,

If she does not rest in the evening at all

Her latest appointed visit is early morning.

Then her furthest appointment is tomorrow morning.

لها قدرة في جسوم الأنام

لها قدرة في جسوم الأنام

حباها بها اللّه ذو القدرهْ

حباها بها اللّه ذو القدرهْ

She has power over the bodies of humankind;

She has power over people's bodies,

God, the Possessor of Power, endowed her with it.

God has endowed her with power.

فقد سلبت أعظمي نَحْضَهَا

فقد سلبت أعظمي نَحْضَهَا

ولم تَترِكْ من دمي قطرهْ

ولم تَترِكْ من دمي قطرهْ

For she has stripped my bones of their flesh,

She has stolen my greatest weakness

And left not a drop of my blood.

And left no drop of my blood.

تَعَلَّلْت باسم سواها لها

تَعَلَّلْت باسم سواها لها

كأنْ ليس لي باسمها خبرهْ

كأنْ ليس لي باسمها خبرهْ

I sought solace in another name for her,

I pretended with the name of another but her -

As though I knew nothing of her name.

As if I had no knowledge of her name.

فطوراً القّبها سخنة

فطوراً القّبها سخنة

وَطَوراً ألقّبها فترهْ

وَطَوراً ألقّبها فترهْ

So at times I call her “heat,”

So at times I call her hotly passionate

And at times I call her “lassitude.”

And at times I call her cold and indifferent.

وقد أعقبْت خُلقي حدّةً

وقد أعقبْت خُلقي حدّةً

وأورثني إلفها ضجرهْ

وأورثني إلفها ضجرهْ

And she has brought sharpness to my temper,

And my manners have led to harshness after her

And familiarity with her has left me vexed.

And her familiarity has bequeathed me disgruntlement.

فللعبد إن غاظني لطمة

فللعبد إن غاظني لطمة

وللحُسرَ إن ساءني زَجْرهْ

وللحُسرَ إن ساءني زَجْرهْ

So the slave gets a slap if he angers me,

The servant, if he is rude to me, has a slap

And the free man [reading uncertain] gets a rebuke if he displeases me.

And sadness, if it wearies me, has a rebuke.

أسَائلُ أهلي عن سحنتي

أسَائلُ أهلي عن سحنتي

وأمنهم نظرةً نظرهْ

وأمنهم نظرةً نظرهْ

I ask my family about my complexion,

I ask my family about my leanness

And weary them, glance after glance.

And I get from them a glance, just a glance.

فأجزع إن قيل لي حمرة

فأجزع إن قيل لي حمرة

وأشفق إن قيل لي صفرهْ

وأشفق إن قيل لي صفرهْ

So I panic if I am told, “Redness,”

So I panic if I am told 'redness'

And fear if I am told, “Yellowness.”

And I fear if I am told 'yellowness'.

وصرتُ إذا جُعْتُ يوماً ظللت

وصرتُ إذا جُعْتُ يوماً ظللت

كأن على كبدي شفره

كأن على كبدي شفره

And now, if I grow hungry one day, I remain

And if I am hungry for a day, I become

As though a blade lay on my liver.

As if there were a blade upon my liver.

ويربو الطحال إذا ما شَبعت

ويربو الطحال إذا ما شَبعت

فتعلو الترائب والصدرهْ

فتعلو الترائب والصدرهْ

And my spleen swells when I eat my fill,

And my spleen swells when I fill up,

So my chest bones and breast rise up.

So the bowels and chest are raised up.

فأمسي كأني من معدتي

فأمسي كأني من معدتي

لبست الثياب على زُكرَهْ

لبست الثياب على زُكرَهْ

So by evening, because of my stomach, it is as though

And so I become as if my clothes

I have put my clothes on over a wineskin.

Were upon my shoulders from my stomach.

إذا ما رأيت امرأً مطْلَقا

إذا ما رأيت امرأً مطْلَقا

له الأكل تخنقني العَبرهْ

له الأكل تخنقني العَبرهْ

Whenever I see a man free

When I see a divorced man

To eat, tears choke me.

Who can eat freely, tears choke me.

وقالوا شفاؤك في حْمَيةٍ

وقالوا شفاؤك في حْمَيةٍ

تعود عليك بها النضرهْ

تعود عليك بها النضرهْ

And they said, “Your cure lies in a restricted diet,

And they said my cure was in a diet

Through which your bloom will return to you.”

That would return my blossoming to me.

كأني في منزلي مخْصِبا

كأني في منزلي مخْصِبا

ببلقعة جدبة قفرهْ

ببلقعة جدبة قفرهْ

As though, amid plenty in my home, I were

It was as if in my house I was made fertile

In a bare, barren, desolate waste.

With an infertile, barren tract of land.