1. وَساعَةِ أُنسٍ قَد قَطَعتُ قَصيرَةٍ

    كَرَجعَةِ طَرفٍ أَو كَنُغبَةِ خائِفِ

    And a brief hour of delight I spent,

    Like the blink of an eye or a frightened one's sip.

  2. حَوَت مَجلِساً فيهِ المُنى قَد تَجمَّعت

    غناءٌ لِذي سَمعٍ وَكَأسٌ لِراشِفِ

    It held a gathering where wishes had come together:

    Song for the listener, and a cup for the sipper,

  3. وَصورةُ حُسنٍ لَو تَبَدَّت لِراهِبٍ

    لأنستهُ ما في هَيكَلٍ وَمصَاحِفِ

    And a vision of beauty—were she to appear to a monk,

    She would make him forget all in the temple and sacred books.

  4. غَريبةُ حُسنٍ بِدعَةٌ في جَمالها

    لَطيفةُ مَعنىً فيهِ كُلُّ اللَطائِفِ

    A rare beauty, a marvel in her loveliness,

    Delicate in essence, wherein every grace resides.

  5. وَما كُنتُ أَدري أَنَّ للشَمس ضرَّةً

    إِلى أَن رَأَيتُ الشَمسَ ذاتَ السَوالِفِ

    And I had not known the sun had a co-wife,

    Until I saw the sun with a woman's neck.

  6. أَلا فاغرُبي شَمسَ النَهارِ فَإِننا

    غَنينا بِشمسٍ نورُها غَيرُ كاسِفِ

    Ah, set, O sun of day, for we

    Have all we need in a sun whose light is never eclipsed.

  7. وَيا بدرُ كُم قَد شبَّهوكَ بوجهها

    لَقَد غَلِطوا ما مشرقٌ مثلَ خاسِفِ

    And O full moon, how often they have likened you to her face!

    They were indeed mistaken: the radiant is not like the eclipsed.

  8. وَيا غُصنُ كَم تَحكي اِعتِدالَ قَوامِها

    حَكيتَ وَلَكن أَينَ ثقلُ الرَوادِفِ

    And O bough, how well you mimic her figure's poise!

    You have copied her—but where is the weight of her buttocks?