تَعَلَّقتُهُ نَشوانَ مِن خَمرِ ريقِهِ

تَعَلَّقتُهُ نَشوانَ مِن خَمرِ ريقِهِ

لَهُ رَشفُها دوني وَلي دونَهُ السُكرُ

لَهُ رَشفُها دوني وَلي دونَهُ السُكرُ

I fell in love with him, drunk on the wine of his saliva.

I am infatuated with his intoxicating wine-like saliva,

He alone sips it, while I alone am drunk.

He alone can taste it while I alone get drunk.

تُرَقرِقُ ماءً مُقلَتايَ وَوَجهِهِ

تُرَقرِقُ ماءً مُقلَتايَ وَوَجهِهِ

وَيُذكي عَلى قَلبي وَوَجنَتِهِ الجَمرُ

وَيُذكي عَلى قَلبي وَوَجنَتِهِ الجَمرُ

My eyes and his face shimmer with water,

It makes my eyes water and his face glisten,

and embers blaze upon my heart and his cheek.

And it sets my heart and his cheeks aflame.

أَرَقَّ نَسيبي فيهِ رِقَّةُ حُسنِهِ

أَرَقَّ نَسيبي فيهِ رِقَّةُ حُسنِهِ

فَلَم أَدرِ أَيُّ مِنهُما قَبلَها السِحرُ

فَلَم أَدرِ أَيُّ مِنهُما قَبلَها السِحرُ

The delicacy of his beauty made my love verse about him tender.

My companion became emaciated from his beauty’s tenderness,

So I could not tell which of the two had been magic before that.

I could not tell which of them had been bewitched first.

وَطِبنا مَعاً شِعراً وَثَغراً كَأَنَّما

وَطِبنا مَعاً شِعراً وَثَغراً كَأَنَّما

لَهُ مَنطقي ثَغرٌ وَلي ثَغرُهُ شِعرُ

لَهُ مَنطقي ثَغرٌ وَلي ثَغرُهُ شِعرُ

And together we were sweet in verse and mouth, as though

We were both excellent in poetry and lips, as if

my speech were a mouth for him, and his mouth poetry for me.

My lips were his poetry and his lips were my poem.