وَمُؤاتي الطَرفِ عَفِّ اللِسانِ

وَمُؤاتي الطَرفِ عَفِّ اللِسانِ

مُطمِعِ الإِطراقي عاصي العِنانِ

مُطمِعِ الإِطراقي عاصي العِنانِ

And one yielding in glance, chaste of tongue,

The flirtatious, loose-tongued one,

With a compliant glance and a chaste tongue,

Arousing hope with downcast eyes, yet defying the rein,

Urging my steed faster, ignoring the reins,

He tempts while looking down, yet remains rebellious to the rein;

مازِجٍ لي مِن رَجاءٍ بِيَأسٍ

مازِجٍ لي مِن رَجاءٍ بِيَأسٍ

نازِحٍ بِالفِعلِ وَالقَولِ دانِ

نازِحٍ بِالفِعلِ وَالقَولِ دانِ

Mingling hope for me with despair,

Mixing hope and despair for me,

Mixing for me a blend of hope and despair,

Distant in deed, but near in speech.

Advancing in word and deed humbly.

Distant in his deeds, yet intimate in his words.

فَإِذا خاطَبَكَ الجِدُّ عَنهُ

فَإِذا خاطَبَكَ الجِدُّ عَنهُ

أَكذَبَ الجِدَّ حَديثُ الأَماني

أَكذَبَ الجِدَّ حَديثُ الأَماني

Then, when sober truth speaks to you of him,

If seriousness addresses you about it,

So when Reality addresses you concerning him,

The talk of wishes gives the lie to sober truth.

Seriousness belies the speech of wishes.

The conversation of wishful thinking belies that Reality—

غَيرَ أَنّي قائِلٌ ما أَتاني

غَيرَ أَنّي قائِلٌ ما أَتاني

مِن ظُنوني مُكَذِبٌ لِلعِيانِ

مِن ظُنوني مُكَذِبٌ لِلعِيانِ

Yet I utter whatever comes to me

Except I'm saying what came to me,

Except that I speak only what has come to me

From my fancies, denying the evidence of sight.

From my suspicions, belying realities,

From my conjectures, contradicting what is visible to the eye;

آخِذٌ نَفسي بِتَأليفِ شَيءٍ

آخِذٌ نَفسي بِتَأليفِ شَيءٍ

واحِدٍ في اللَفظِ شَتّى المَعاني

واحِدٍ في اللَفظِ شَتّى المَعاني

I bind myself to fashioning a thing,

Taking myself to compose something,

Compelling my soul to construct a thing

Single in wording, manifold in meanings,

Singular in word, diverse in meanings.

Singular in wording, yet manifold in meaning.

قائِمٌ في الوَهمِ حَتّى إِذاما

قائِمٌ في الوَهمِ حَتّى إِذاما

رُمتُهُ رُمتُ مُعَمّى المَكانِ

رُمتُهُ رُمتُ مُعَمّى المَكانِ

Existing in fancy—until the moment when

Standing in fancy, until when

It exists in illusion, until the moment

I seek it, and seek something whose whereabouts are hidden.

I throw it, I've thrown an invisible place.

I sought it, I sought a place concealed,

فَكَأَنّي تابِعٌ حُسنَ شَيءٍ

فَكَأَنّي تابِعٌ حُسنَ شَيءٍ

مِن أَمامي لَيسَ بِالمُستَبانِ

مِن أَمامي لَيسَ بِالمُستَبانِ

So I seem to follow the beauty of something

So it's as if I'm following the beauty

As though I were pursuing the beauty of something

Ahead of me, yet not clearly discernible.

Of something ahead of me, not evident.

That lies before me, yet remains indistinct.

فَتَعَزَّيتُ بِصِرفٍ عُقارٍ

فَتَعَزَّيتُ بِصِرفٍ عُقارٍ

نَشَأَت في حِجرِ أُمِّ الزَمانِ

نَشَأَت في حِجرِ أُمِّ الزَمانِ

So I consoled myself with unmixed wine,

So I was consoled by a draught of medicine

So I sought solace in a pure, strong vintage

Which grew up in the lap of Time's mother.

That grew in the lap of Mother Time.

That was raised in the very lap of the Mother of Time;

فَهيَ سِنُّ الدَهرِ إِن هِيَ فُرَّت

فَهيَ سِنُّ الدَهرِ إِن هِيَ فُرَّت

نَشَئا وَارتَضَعا مِن لِبانِ

نَشَئا وَارتَضَعا مِن لِبانِ

She is Time's age-mate, if her teeth are examined:

For it is the tooth of fate - if it dashed away

She is the peer of Eternity; were she compared,

The two grew up together and suckled the same milk.

And suckled in its prime from fresh milk -

They grew as twins and suckled from the same breast.

وَتَناساها الجَديدانِ حَتّى

وَتَناساها الجَديدانِ حَتّى

هِيَ أَنصافُ شُطورِ الدَنانِ

هِيَ أَنصافُ شُطورِ الدَنانِ

And day and night left her forgotten, until

And the two new ones forgot it

The Day and Night forgot her, until

She was but half the halves of the wine jars.

Until it was halfway ground down.

She was reduced to the mere halves of the jars.

فَاِفتَرَعنا مُزَّةَ الطَعنِ فيها

فَاِفتَرَعنا مُزَّةَ الطَعنِ فيها

نَزَقُ البِكرِ وَلينُ العَوانِ

نَزَقُ البِكرِ وَلينُ العَوانِ

Then we deflowered a wine tart to the thrust; in her

So we enjoyed the flavor of mocking it,

We broached her seal—a wine possessing the bite

Were a virgin's impetuousness and a matron's softness.

The delicacy of a virgin, the softness of a lover.

Of a virgin’s caprice and a matron’s tenderness.

وَاِحتَسَينا مِن عَتيقٍ عُقارٍ

وَاِحتَسَينا مِن عَتيقٍ عُقارٍ

خُسرَوِيٍّ كامِنٍ في لِيانِ

خُسرَوِيٍّ كامِنٍ في لِيانِ

And we sipped of an aged wine,

And we gained from an aged, mature medicine,

And we sipped from an ancient vintage,

Khusrawian, hidden in wine jars.

Khosrowan, latent in the goblets.

A royal spirit lurking within pliancy;

لَم يَجفُها مِبزَلُ القَومِ حَت

لَم يَجفُها مِبزَلُ القَومِ حَت

تى نَجَمَت مِثلَ نُجومِ السِنانِ

تى نَجَمَت مِثلَ نُجومِ السِنانِ

The company's tapping-spike did not forsake her until

The tribe's abode did not dry it out

The strainer of the company did not treat her harshly,

She emerged as a spearhead emerges,

Until it shone like the stars of Sinnan,

Until she shone forth like the stars on spearheads,

أَو كَعِرقِ السامِ يَنشَقُّ عَنهُ

أَو كَعِرقِ السامِ يَنشَقُّ عَنهُ

شُعَبٌ مِثلَ اِنفِراجِ البَنانِ

شُعَبٌ مِثلَ اِنفِراجِ البَنانِ

Or like a vein of gold from which split off

Or like the vein of lightning that splits from it

Or like a vein of ore splitting open to reveal

Branches, like fingers spreading apart.

Valleys like the divergence of the cliffs.

Branches spreading like the parting of fingers.

فَلِيَ الصَهباءُ أَبكي عَلَيها

فَلِيَ الصَهباءُ أَبكي عَلَيها

وَالمَغاني لِبُكاةِ المَغاني

وَالمَغاني لِبُكاةِ المَغاني

So mine is the tawny wine—I weep over her,

So the wakeful white camels are mine, I cry over it,

So let the reddish wine be mine to weep over,

And the dwellings are for those who weep over dwellings.

And the songs are for the singers of songs.

And leave the ruined dwellings to those who weep for ruins.