1. لَوْلاَ الحِمَى وَصَبَايَا بِالْحِمَى عُرُبُ

    مَا كَانَ فِي البَارِقِ النَّجْدِيِّ لي أَرَبُ

    Were it not for the preserve and the amorous maidens within it,

    I would have no desire for the lightning of Najd.

  2. حَلَّتْ عُقُودَ اصْطِبَارِي دُوْنَهُ حُلَلٌ

    حُقُوُقهَا كَارتِيَاحاتِي لَهَا تَجِبُ

    Encampments before it have undone the knots of my patience;

    Their claims, like my raptures for them, are binding.

  3. وَفِي رِيَاضِ بِيوُتِ الحَيِّ مِنْ إِضَمٍ

    وَرْدٌ جَنِيٌّ وَفِي أَكْمَامِهَا القُضُبُ

    And in the gardens of the clan's dwellings at Idam

    Are fresh roses, with slender boughs inside their sleeves.

  4. يَسْقِي الأَقَاحِيَ مِنْهَا قُرْقُفٌ فإِذَا

    لاَحَ الحَبَابُ عَلَيْهَا فَاسْمُهُ الشَّنَبُ

    Wine from them waters the daisies; and when

    Bubbles gleam upon them, it is called the cool luster of teeth.

  5. يَقْضِي بِهَا لِعُيُونِ النَّاظِرينَ عَلَى

    كُلِّ القُلُوبِ قَضَاءٌ مَا لَهُ سَبَبُ

    Judgment is given there for the beholders' eyes against

    All hearts—a judgment that has no cause

  6. إِلاَّ تَمَارُضَ أَجْفَانٍ إِذَا سَلَبَتْ

    فَمُقْتَضَى هَمِّهَا المَسْلُوبُ لاَ السَّلَبُ

    Save the feigned languor of eyelids: when they rob,

    Their intent calls for the one robbed, not the spoil.

  7. وَلِي لَدَى الحِلَّةِ الفَيْحَاءِ غُصْنُ نَقَا

    يَهْفُو فَيَجْذِبُهُ خَفْقٌ فَيَنْجَذِبُ

    And by the spacious camp I have a bough upon a dune:

    It sways; a flutter draws it, and it yields.

  8. لاَ يَقْدِرُ الحِبُّ أنْ يُخْفِي مَحَاسِنَهُ

    وَإِنَّمَا فِي سَنَاهُ الْحُجْبُ تَحْتَجِبُ

    The beloved cannot hide his beauties;

    Rather, in his radiance, the veils themselves are veiled.

  9. أُعَاهِدُ الرَّاحَ أَنَّى لاَ أُفَارِقُهَا

    مِنْ أَجْلِ أَنَّ الثَّنَايَا شِبْهُهُا الحَبَبُ

    I pledge to wine that I shall never leave it,

    Because its bubbles are like the front teeth.

  10. وَأَرْقُبُ البَرْقَ لاَسُقْيَاهُ مِنْ أَربَى

    لَكِنَّهُ مِثْلُ خَدَّيْهِ لَهُ لَهَبُ

    And I watch the lightning, not because I desire its rain,

    But because it has a flame like his cheeks.

  11. يَا سَالِماً فِي الهَوَى مِمَا أُكَابِدُهُ

    رِفْقَاً بِأَحْشَاءِ صَبٍّ شَفَّهَا الوَصَبُ

    O you safe, in love, from what I endure,

    Be gentle with a lover's vitals, wasted by affliction.

  12. فَالأَجْرُ يَا أَمَلي إِنْ كُنْتَ تَكْسِبُهُ

    مِنْ كُلِّ ذِي كَبِدٍ حَرَّاءَ تَكْتَسِبُ

    For if you would earn reward, O my hope,

    You gain it from everyone with a burning liver.

  13. يَا بَدرَ تَمٍّ مُحَاقِي فِي زِيَادَتِهِ

    ما أَنْ تَنْجَلِي عَنْ أُفْقِكَ السُّحُبُ

    O full moon, in whose waxing lies my waning,

    The clouds do not lift from your horizon.

  14. صَحَا السُّكَارَى وَسُكْرِي فِيكَ دَامَ وَمَا

    لِلسِّكْرِ من سَبَبٌ يُرْوَى ولاَ نَسَبُ

    The drunken have sobered; my drunkenness in you has endured, and no

    Cause for that drunkenness can be told, nor any lineage.

  15. قَدْ أَيَّسَ الصَّبْرَ وَالسِّلْوَانَ أَيْسَرُهُ

    وَعَاقَبَ الصِّبَّ عَنْ آمَالِهِ الوَصَبُ

    The least of it has driven patience and solace to despair;

    And affliction has punished the lover for his hopes.

  16. وَكُلَّمَا لاَحَ يَا دَمْعِي وَمِيضُ سَنىً

    تَهْمِي وَإِنْ هَبَّ يَا قَلْبِي صَباً تَجِبُ

    And whenever, O my tears, a flash of radiance appears,

    You stream; and if an east wind blows, O my heart, you throb.