وَرابِعَةٍ شَتّى المَذاهبِ ضَمَّهُم

وَرابِعَةٍ شَتّى المَذاهبِ ضَمَّهُم

نَدِيٌّ لأشتاتِ المسرّاتِ جامِعُ

نَدِيٌّ لأشتاتِ المسرّاتِ جامِعُ

And a company of diverse persuasions was brought together

He gathered diverse schools together like pieces

by an assembly embracing every kind of delight.

of a shining dome for scattered pleasures to unite under,

نشنِّفُ أَسماعاً بِدُرٍّ بِمثلِهِ

نشنِّفُ أَسماعاً بِدُرٍّ بِمثلِهِ

تَتِيهُ عَلى سودِ المَآقي المَسامِعُ

تَتِيهُ عَلى سودِ المَآقي المَسامِعُ

We adorn ears with pearls; with their like

And charmed our ears with a moon whose peerless light

ears vaunt themselves over dark-cornered eyes.

wanders lost over the dark horizons of hearing,

وَتَنظِمُ مَنثوراً مِن الكَلِمِ الَّذي

وَتَنظِمُ مَنثوراً مِن الكَلِمِ الَّذي

هُوَ الدُرُّ لَكن لَم يُثَقِّبهُ صانِعُ

هُوَ الدُرُّ لَكن لَم يُثَقِّبهُ صانِعُ

And you string together scattered words, which

And knits together scattered words into a poem

are pearls, though no craftsman has pierced them.

that is a pearl which the Maker has not yet pierced,

وَنادَمَنا ظَبيٌ نَصَبنا حَبائِلاً

وَنادَمَنا ظَبيٌ نَصَبنا حَبائِلاً

لَهُ فَهوَ في تِلكَ الحَبائِلِ واقِعُ

لَهُ فَهوَ في تِلكَ الحَبائِلِ واقِعُ

And a gazelle drank with us; we laid snares

We set snares for a gazelle and it became our boon companion,

for him, and he is caught in those snares.

so it fell into the very snares we made,

يُدير لَنا مِن لَحظِهِ بابليَّةً

يُدير لَنا مِن لَحظِهِ بابليَّةً

وَيَبسُطُ أُنساً للَّذي هُوَ طامِعُ

وَيَبسُطُ أُنساً للَّذي هُوَ طامِعُ

He passes us Babylonian wine from his glance,

With its glances it spins a Babylonian spell for us

and offers intimacy to whoever desires it.

and freely grants intimacy to the aspirer,

فَنهصُرُ مِنهُ الغُصنَ وَالغُصنُ مائِسٌ

فَنهصُرُ مِنهُ الغُصنَ وَالغُصنُ مائِسٌ

وَنُبصِرُ مِنهُ البَدرَ وَالبَدرُ طالِعُ

وَنُبصِرُ مِنهُ البَدرَ وَالبَدرُ طالِعُ

So we bend his bough, and the bough sways,

So from it we look to the branch, though the branch hangs low,

and behold in him the full moon, and the full moon rises.

and from it we look to the moon, though the moon is rising,

وَلَولايَ أَضحى الظَبيُ للذئبِ طعمة

وَلَولايَ أَضحى الظَبيُ للذئبِ طعمة

وَلَكِن حَماهُ اللَيثُ وَالذئبُ جائِعُ

وَلَكِن حَماهُ اللَيثُ وَالذئبُ جائِعُ

And but for me, the gazelle would have become the wolf’s prey;

Without it the gazelle would be torn to pieces by the wolf,

yet the lion protected him, while the wolf went hungry.

but the lion protected it while the wolf went hungry,

يَوَدُّ بِأَنَّ اللَيثَ يَحظى بِعُلوِهِ

يَوَدُّ بِأَنَّ اللَيثَ يَحظى بِعُلوِهِ

وَتَبقى لَهُ أَوراكُهُ وَالأَكارِعُ

وَتَبقى لَهُ أَوراكُهُ وَالأَكارِعُ

He wishes the lion might enjoy the gazelle’s upper part,

The wolf longs for the lion to enjoy its height

and his haunches and shanks be left for him.

while the wolf keeps its lairs and dens,

فَقُلتُ لَهُ يا ذئبُ أَقصِر عَن الرَشا

فَقُلتُ لَهُ يا ذئبُ أَقصِر عَن الرَشا

فَإِنَّ الرَشا في غابَةِ اللَيثِ راتِعُ

فَإِنَّ الرَشا في غابَةِ اللَيثِ راتِعُ

So I said to him: Wolf, leave the fawn alone!

So I said to the wolf, "Desist from evil thoughts,

For the fawn grazes freely in the lion’s thicket.

for evil in the lion's woods will meet defeat."