عج بالمطيّ في أظعانها

عج بالمطيّ في أظعانها

من ليس غير دمي خضابُ بنانها

من ليس غير دمي خضابُ بنانها

Turn aside with the riding camels amid her caravan—

She rode her camel, groaning,

her whose fingertips are dyed with nothing but my blood.

Her mouth dyed crimson as pomegranates, nothing else.

شمسٌ تجلت والفراق دجنَّة

شمسٌ تجلت والفراق دجنَّة

فهوت نجوم الدمع من أجفانها

فهوت نجوم الدمع من أجفانها

A sun revealed herself, while parting was dark gloom,

The sun shone out, the darkness of parting gathered,

and the stars of tears fell from her eyelids.

The stars of her tears fell from her eyelids.

جمدتْ دموع العاشقين بنحرها

جمدتْ دموع العاشقين بنحرها

أو ذاب في الأجفان سلك جمانها

أو ذاب في الأجفان سلك جمانها

The lovers' tears froze upon her throat,

The tears of lovers froze in her throat

or the strand of her pearls melted within the eyelids.

Or melted into threads of metal on her eyelids.

ممنوعة من أن ترام بشبها

ممنوعة من أن ترام بشبها

في لونها وقوامها وليانها

في لونها وقوامها وليانها

She cannot be matched by any likeness

She is forbidden to be seen resembling

in her complexion, her stature, and her suppleness.

Her color, figure, being, and folds.

فالموت كل الموت دون وصالها

فالموت كل الموت دون وصالها

والموت كل الموت في هجرانها

والموت كل الموت في هجرانها

So death—utter death—bars the way to union with her,

So death, only death, without union with her,

and death—utter death—lies in separation from her.

And death, only death, in estrangement from her.

وبليَّتي أختُ القناة قوامها

وبليَّتي أختُ القناة قوامها

كقوامها ولحاظها كسنانها

كقوامها ولحاظها كسنانها

And my affliction is the spear's sister: her stature

My affliction took on the figure of her body,

is like its stature, and her glances like its spearpoint.

Her stature, her glances, her shining teeth.

يحمي برامة كلَّ شيءٍ مثلهُ

يحمي برامة كلَّ شيءٍ مثلهُ

من كل ساجي مقلة وسنانها

من كل ساجي مقلة وسنانها

At Rama, each thing is guarded by its like,

A young gazelle protects everything like it,

among all the languid eyes and their spearpoints.

From all loose-tongued slanderers and teeth.

فالسُّمر دون السمر يثنيها الصّبا

فالسُّمر دون السمر يثنيها الصّبا

والبيض دون اللحظ من غزلانها

والبيض دون اللحظ من غزلانها

So brown spears guard the acacias that the east wind bends,

The Pleiades go below the Pleiades when she bends,

and white swords guard the glances of its gazelles.

And the full moon below her glances and gazelles.

أنا بالثلاثة ما حييت معذَّبٌ

أنا بالثلاثة ما حييت معذَّبٌ

برماحهم وقدودهنَّ وبانها

برماحهم وقدودهنَّ وبانها

By all three I am tormented as long as I live:

With those three I’ll never be tortured as long as I live -

by their spears, the women's figures, and its bān trees.

By their spears, their writhing, and their separation.

يحجبنَ فالأقمار في هالاتها

يحجبنَ فالأقمار في هالاتها

ويمسنَ فالأغصان في كثبانها

ويمسنَ فالأغصان في كثبانها

They are veiled: moons within their halos;

They veil the moons in their haloes,

and they walk swaying: branches amid their sand dunes.

And they touch the branches in their undulations.

فلبست من جسدي أسقامهُ

فلبست من جسدي أسقامهُ

وعدمتُ من كبدي سوى خفقانها

وعدمتُ من كبدي سوى خفقانها

So I clothed myself in my body's ailments,

So I put on my body all its illnesses,

and lost all of my liver save its throbbing.

And I emptied my liver of all but its pounding.

لم يبق في جسمي لروحي حاجة

لم يبق في جسمي لروحي حاجة

لولا تعطُّفها على أوطانها

لولا تعطُّفها على أوطانها

My soul had no further need of my body,

No part of my body had need of my soul,

but for its tenderness toward its native homes.

Were it not that it took pity on its homelands.

عن كل إنسان لهيتُ وبعض ما

عن كل إنسان لهيتُ وبعض ما

لاقيتُ يلهي العين عن إنسانها

لاقيتُ يلهي العين عن إنسانها

I was distracted from everyone; some of what

I became heedless of every human being, but some -

I endured distracts the eye from its own pupil.

Distracts the eye from humankind.

ولقد رحلنَ العيس يعسفنَ الدجى

ولقد رحلنَ العيس يعسفنَ الدجى

وكأنها الإنسان في أرسانها

وكأنها الإنسان في أرسانها

And indeed they saddled the pale camels, forging through the darkness,

The deer went their way at nightfall,

as though they were human beings within their halters.

As if they were humans in their dwellings.

يبدو لها بدر الدجى ونجومه

يبدو لها بدر الدجى ونجومه

فتخالهُ لمياء في أخدانها

فتخالهُ لمياء في أخدانها

The full moon of night and its stars appear to them,

The full moons of night appear to them,

and they take it for a dark-lipped maiden among her companions.

And they imagine them to be water in their valleys.

وترى بروق الليل وهي خواطف

وترى بروق الليل وهي خواطف

فتظنَّها ما شبَّ من نيرانها

فتظنَّها ما شبَّ من نيرانها

They see the night's lightning, flashing swiftly,

And they see the lightning flashes of night, which

and mistake it for flames flaring from her fires.

They think are fires sparked among them.

خود تجلَّت في الجمال كأنما الد

خود تجلَّت في الجمال كأنما الد

نيا تجلَّت في حلا سلطانها

نيا تجلَّت في حلا سلطانها

A tender maiden appeared in beauty, as though the world

Beauty itself was revealed in loveliness,

had appeared in its sultan's finery.

As if the world was revealed in the splendor of its ruler.

ولحاظ مقلتها على عشَّاقها

ولحاظ مقلتها على عشَّاقها

كسيوفه تسطو على حدثانها

كسيوفه تسطو على حدثانها

And her eye's glances upon her lovers

And the glances of her eyelids over her lovers

are like his swords, assailing the world's vicissitudes.

Are like its swords prevailing over the skulls of youths.