1. لِلّهِ أيّامٌ مَضَينَ قَطَعتُها

    وطوالُها بالغانيات قِصارُ

    God bless those bygone days I spent,

    and their long days were brief in the company of beauties.

  2. حينَ الصِبا لَدنُ المَهَنِّ قضيبُهُ

    غضٌّ وأتواءُ السرور غزارُ

    When youth's bough was supple in its [swaying],

    tender, and [showers] of joy were abundant.

  3. أجلُو النهارَ على النهارِ وأنثَني

    والشمسُ لي دونَ الشِعار شِعارُ

    I unveil daylight against daylight, and turn back,

    and the sun is my inner garment beneath my inner garment.

  4. خدّاهُ وردٌ والنواظرُ نرجسٌ

    والثغر سوسن والرضابُ عقارُ

    His cheeks are roses, and his eyes narcissus;

    his mouth a lily, and his saliva wine.

  5. حتى اذا ما الليلُ اقبلَ ضَمَّنا

    دونَ الإزار من العناق إزارُ

    Until, when night came, we were enfolded

    in a wrap of embraces beneath the wrap.

  6. فعلى النحورِ من النحور قلائدٌ

    وعلى الخدود من الخدود خِمارُ

    So upon necks lay necklaces of necks,

    and upon cheeks, a veil of cheeks.

  7. وبَدَت نجومُ الليل من حُلَلِ الدجى

    تزكو كما يَتَفَتَّحُ النُوّارُ

    And the night's stars appeared from the robes of darkness,

    flourishing as blossoms unfold.

  8. أَقبَلنَ والمرِّيخُ في أوساطها

    مثلَ الدراهمِ وَسطَها دينار

    They came forth, with Mars in their midst,

    like silver dirhams with a gold dinar among them.

  9. فالجَوُّ مَجلُوُّ النجوم على الدجى

    في قُمصِ وَشيٍ ما لها أَزرارُ

    So the sky, its stars unveiled against the darkness,

    is clad in brocade shirts that have no buttons.

  10. وكأنَّما الجوزا وِشاح خريدةٍ

    والنجمُ تاجٌ والوشاحُ خِمارُ

    And it is as though al-Jawza were a modest maiden's sash,

    and the star a crown, and the sash a veil.

  11. مَلِكٌ تُناجيهِ القلوبُ بما جَنَت

    وَتَخافُهُ الأوهامُ والافكارُ

    A king to whom hearts whisper what they have committed,

    and whom imaginings and thoughts fear.

  12. فَيَدٌ مُؤَيِّدَةٌ وقَلبٌ قُلَّبٌ

    وشَبا يُشَبُّ وخاطرٌ خَطّارُ

    Thus, a hand that gives strength, and a resourceful heart,

    and weapon-points kept sharp, and a quick-ranging mind—

  13. حِينَ العيون شواخصٌ وكأنَّها

    للخوف لم تُخلَق لها أبصارُ

    when eyes stare fixedly, as though

    from fear they had never been endowed with sight.

  14. كُلُّ الورى أرضٌ وانتَ سماؤُها

    وجميعُهُم ليلٌ وانتَ نَهارُ

    All creation is earth, and you its sky,

    and all of them are night, and you are day.