حميتَ الأسيلَ بجدِّ الأسلْ

حميتَ الأسيلَ بجدِّ الأسلْ

أجلْ ما لحاظك إلاَّ الجلْ

أجلْ ما لحاظك إلاَّ الجلْ

You guarded the smooth cheek with the force of spears.

You defended the captives with the seriousness of captivity

Yes—your glances are nothing but death.

To prolong what you only look at prolongingly

مللتَ وملتَ وأنت القضيب

مللتَ وملتَ وأنت القضيب

فملْ كالقضيب وخلِّ الملل

فملْ كالقضيب وخلِّ الملل

You grew weary and swayed, though you are a slender branch;

You are bored and so am I, yet you are erect

then sway like a branch, and leave weariness behind.

So be erect and leave behind your boredom

لذذتُ بحبك لا بل ذللتُ

لذذتُ بحبك لا بل ذللتُ

وحكم الصبابة من لذَّ ذل

وحكم الصبابة من لذَّ ذل

I delighted in loving you—no, rather, I was abased;

I enjoyed your love - no, rather I suffered

and passion's law is: whoever delights is abased.

And the judgment of passion is to suffer its enjoyment

فلا تفرحنَّ بطول الحيا

فلا تفرحنَّ بطول الحيا

ة أخفُّ العذاب عذابٌ قتل

ة أخفُّ العذاب عذابٌ قتل

So do not rejoice in a long life:

So do not rejoice at the length of life

the lightest torment is a torment that kills.

As the slightest torture is torturous death

تولّى الهدوّ كأنْ لم يكن

تولّى الهدوّ كأنْ لم يكن

وأضحى الغرام كأن لم يزل

وأضحى الغرام كأن لم يزل

Tranquility departed, as though it had never existed;

He turned away as if he had never existed

and passion is now as though it had never ceased.

And love remained as if it had never departed

أضاع مقالك يا عاذلي

أضاع مقالك يا عاذلي

بياضُ الطُّلى وسواد المقل

بياضُ الطُّلى وسواد المقل

Your words, O my reproacher, were undone

Your words have gone astray, O reproacher

by the whiteness of necks and the blackness of eyes.

The whiteness of brightness and the blackness of blinking

فلا تنكرنْ ليَ حسن النسيب لجـ

فلا تنكرنْ ليَ حسن النسيب لجـ

ـيد الغزال أجدتُ الغزل

ـيد الغزال أجدتُ الغزل

So do not deny the beauty of my love poetry: for the neck

So do not deny me the beauty of ancestry

of the gazelle I have perfected my love verse.

I have found the gazelle to be of beautiful descent

ولا تعجبن من بكائي الطلو

ولا تعجبن من بكائي الطلو

ل فطلّ الدموعِ لغير الطلل

ل فطلّ الدموعِ لغير الطلل

And do not marvel at my weeping over the ruins:

And do not wonder at my prolonged crying

for the dew of tears is for something other than the ruined dwelling.

As pouring tears is not for temporary weeping

أعيدوا اصطباريَ قبل الفرا

أعيدوا اصطباريَ قبل الفرا

ق فما لي بينكمُ من قبل

ق فما لي بينكمُ من قبل

Restore my patience before parting;

Restore my patience before separation

for among you I have no strength.

For between you all, I had no previous patience

نعم وخذوا من دموعي الأمان فقـ

نعم وخذوا من دموعي الأمان فقـ

ـد قطع السّبل ذاك السّبل

ـد قطع السّبل ذاك السّبل

Yes, and take safe-conduct from my tears, for indeed

Yes, and take from my tears an assurance

that downpour has cut off the roads.

For that journey has blocked the paths

بللت الصعيد بماء الجفون

بللت الصعيد بماء الجفون

وأما فؤادي فما إن أبلّ

وأما فؤادي فما إن أبلّ

I drenched the earth with the water of my eyelids;

I wet the ground with the water of my eyelids

but as for my heart, it has not healed at all.

And as for my heart, it did not wet

ودلَّ على مقلتيَّ السهادَ

ودلَّ على مقلتيَّ السهادَ

أشفُّ البريَّةِ تيها ودلّ

أشفُّ البريَّةِ تيها ودلّ

And sleeplessness was led to my eyes by

And my glances indicated my confusion,

the foremost of all creation in pride and coquetry.

More bewildered than the desert and more lost

تقلَّد ما بين أجفانه

تقلَّد ما بين أجفانه

ومثلَ شمائله ما اعتقل

ومثلَ شمائله ما اعتقل

He wears as a sword what lies between his eyelids;

My eyelids took on

and no lance he couched ever matched his qualities.

What his traits have retained

وناظره يستحلّ الدماء

وناظره يستحلّ الدماء

هنياً لناظره ما استحل

هنياً لناظره ما استحل

His eye deems bloodshed lawful;

And his glances legitimize bloodshed

may his eye enjoy what it has deemed lawful.

Restrain them from what they legitimize

سقى الله برزة والواديين

سقى الله برزة والواديين

غيرَ البكاء وغير الوشل

غيرَ البكاء وغير الوشل

May God water Barza and the two valleys,

May God water the plain and the two valleys

not with tears, nor with a scant trickle.

With nothing but tears and nothing but sorrow

منازل لهوٍ كساها الزمان أعـ

منازل لهوٍ كساها الزمان أعـ

ـلى الحليِّ وأغلى الحلل

ـلى الحليِّ وأغلى الحلل

Abodes of pleasure, which time has clothed in the finest

Dwellings of desires dressed by time

jewels and the costliest robes.

In the finest adornment and most expensive garb

فنارُ الحياء وماء الحيا

فنارُ الحياء وماء الحيا

يروقان من شامَ أو من نهل

يروقان من شامَ أو من نهل

So the fire of modesty and the water of rain

The fire of shame and the water of life

delight whoever beholds or drinks his fill.

Suit those from Damascus or those who slake thirst

وطيب الهواء وطيب الهوى

وطيب الهواء وطيب الهوى

مميت الكروب ومحيي الغلل

مميت الكروب ومحيي الغلل

And the sweetness of the air and the sweetness of love

And good air and good love

kill sorrows and revive burning thirst.

Kill anxiety and revive separation

نزعت إليها ولوعاً بهِ

نزعت إليها ولوعاً بهِ

فجسمي أقام وقلبي رحل

فجسمي أقام وقلبي رحل

I yearned for them out of passion for him;

I yearned for it out of love for it

so my body stayed, and my heart departed.

So my body stayed while my heart traveled