إذا سألوني عن سوادِ عذارِ مَنْ

إذا سألوني عن سوادِ عذارِ مَنْ

غَدا لا يُصافيني وظلتْتُ أُصافيهِ

غَدا لا يُصافيني وظلتْتُ أُصافيهِ

When they ask me about the black cheek-down of one

If they ask me of the darkness of one

who no longer shows me affection, though I still show him mine,

Who dawned no longer greeting me, though I greeted him,

أجبتُ نمالُ المسكِ دبّتْ بوجههِ

أجبتُ نمالُ المسكِ دبّتْ بوجههِ

فساخَ لِلُطْفِ الجِلدِ أَنملُها فيهِ

فساخَ لِلُطْفِ الجِلدِ أَنملُها فيهِ

I reply: ants of musk crept across his face,

I answer, "The musk's blots crept on his cheek;

so their fingertips sank into it, such was the delicacy of his skin.

So the softness of his face made its moles crawl over it."