1. سباني بسحرِ الأعينِ النّجْلِ

    غزالٌ يشوبُ الهجر بالوصلِ

    He captivated me with the magic of wide eyes—

    a gazelle who mingles estrangement with union.

  2. تَكَنَّفَنِي فيه أولو العَذْلِ

    رويدكمْ فالعذلُ لا يُسلي

    Those who reproach me have hemmed me in over him.

    Gently, all of you: reproach brings no solace.

  3. خلعتُ لكم جُلّي وأعْذَارِي

    أنا سابقٌ والحبُّ مضماري

    For you I have cast off my horsecloth and bridle straps;

    I am a leading racer, and love is my racecourse.

  4. أَبى القلب أن يَسْلُوَ عن ذِكرِ

    نَدَامى كمثل الأنجم الزُّهْرِ

    The heart refused to forget the memory of

    drinking companions like radiant stars,

  5. عليهم أكاليلٌ من الزهرِ

    قطعتُ بهم والدهر لا يدري

    with garlands of blossoms upon them.

    With them I passed, while Time knew nothing,

  6. أصائلَ سِتّبعد أسْحارِ

    كأنَّ مُدامنا منْ جُلَّنَارِ

    six late afternoons after predawn hours,

    as though our wine were made of pomegranate blossom.

  7. أبا القاسمِ أفديكَ منْ نَدْبِ

    أناملُهُ أَنْدى من السُّحْبِ

    Abu al-Qasim, I would ransom you, noble man,

    whose fingertips are more bountiful than the clouds

  8. على مُعْتَفِيه وعلى الصَّحْبِ

    وتاللهِ لا أخْشَى من الجَدْبِ

    to those seeking his bounty and to his companions.

    By God, I fear no drought,

  9. ولا زَمَنٍ أنكدَ من جَارِ

    وأنتَ عليه خيرُ أنصاري

    nor a time more troublesome than a neighbor,

    and you are my best ally against it.

  10. وخودِ عُرْبٍ شَفَّها البُعْدُ

    وعادَ إليها إلْفُها بَعْدُ

    And a tender, amorous maiden, wasted by separation—

    her beloved then returned to her,

  11. فعادَ الهنا واستحكمَ الودُّ

    تقولُ وقد ساعدها السعد

    so joy returned and affection grew firm.

    She says, with good fortune aiding her:

  12. دَنَتْ دارُ من أهواهُ مِن داري

    وزار وما كانَ بزوَّارِ

    "My beloved's home has drawn near to mine;

    he visited, though he was no frequent visitor."

  13. أحلى منَ الأمْنِ

    يرتابُ في قربي وَيَفْرَقُ

    Sweeter than safety,

    he mistrusts my nearness and is afraid.

  14. في وجهِهِ سُنّهْ

    يشجى بها العذْلُ وَيَشْرَقُ

    There is beauty in his face

    at which reproach grieves and chokes.

  15. اللهَ ما أقربْ

    على مُحِبيّهِ وأبْعَدا

    By God, how near he is

    to those who love him—and how distant!

  16. حلوُ اللّمى أشْنب

    آسى الضنا فيه وأَسْعَدا

    Sweet his dusky lips, gleaming his teeth;

    he soothed my lovesickness for him and brought me joy.

  17. أحْبِبْ به أحْبِب

    ويا تجنّيه طال المدى

    How lovable he is—how lovable!

    And ah, his caprice—how long it has lasted!

  18. أما ترى حُزني

    ناراً على قلبي تُحَرِّقُ

    Do you not see my grief,

    a fire burning fiercely upon my heart?

  19. حسبي به جنّة

    يا ماءُ يا ظلّ يا رونَقُ

    In him I have paradise enough.

    O water, O shade, O radiance!

  20. أعاذَك اللهُ

    من كلّ ما ألقى وقد فَعَل

    May God protect you

    from all I endure; such things have indeed been done

  21. بي منكَ تيّاه

    يُسرُّ أن أشْقَى ولا أمَل

    to me by a haughty one of your kind,

    who delights that I suffer and have no hope.

  22. ألهو بذكراه

    من حيث لا أبقى ولا عَدَل

    I find diversion in remembering him,

    though he neither spared me nor dealt fairly.

  23. أَعيا على ظنّي

    ملآنَ من عُجْبِ مُعوِّقُ

    He has baffled my understanding,

    full of conceit, thwarting me.

  24. سطا فلا جُنّةْ

    تَقِي ولا نَصْلُ يُطبّقُ

    He struck, and there is no shield

    to protect me, nor a blade that strikes home.

  25. يا زينة الدنيا

    من كلِّ ما استهواك أو وفّرك

    O adornment of the world,

    from all that captivated you or honored you,

  26. آلاءِ ذي تُقْيا

    يخافُ لو سمّاك لَشَهّرْكْ

    the favors of one who is cautious,

    who fears that naming you would expose you.

  27. من أعجبِ الأشيا

    في الحبِّ أن يهواك منْ لم يرَك

    Among the strangest things

    in love is that one who has never seen you should love you.

  28. فإن يُسَلْ يكني

    وحالُهُ يُنْبي فَيَصْدُقُ

    So if questioned, he names you obliquely,

    while his condition reveals it and tells the truth:

  29. بأَنك الظنّة

    يُومي بك الحفل أو ينطق

    that you are the one suspected.

    The gathering gestures toward you or speaks aloud.

  30. لا تنخدعْ عنّي

    فإنّهُ الصبرُ أو الرَّدى

    Do not be misled away from me,

    for it is endurance or death.

  31. وثقْ فإن أكني

    إن رابني الدهر وفَنّدا

    And trust me, for if I speak in hints,

    if Time unsettles me and calls me foolish—

  32. واخجلتي منّي

    حتى مَ أغترُّ ولا جدا

    and oh, how ashamed I am of myself!

    How long shall I be deluded, with nothing gained?

  33. مالي وللحُسْن

    عَهْدٌ من الحبِّ لا يَخْلَقُ

    What have I to do with beauty?

    A covenant of love that never wears out.

  34. إن قلتُ بي جِنّة

    فأين ما أقلو وأفرقٌ

    If I say that madness is in me,

    then where is what I loathe and fear?

  35. ألقاكَ عن عُفرِ

    فلا أناجيكا إلا اشتياقْ

    I meet you after long intervals,

    so I whisper to you only out of longing.

  36. والله ما أدري

    قد التوى فيكا أمري وضاقْ

    And by God, I do not know;

    my situation with you has grown tangled and straitened.

  37. أشدو وما عُذْري

    ألا أقاضيكا إلى العناق

    I sing—and what excuse have I

    for not taking you to the judgment of an embrace?

  38. يا ربّ ما اصبرني

    نرى حبيب قلبي ونعشقو

    O Lord, how patient I am!

    I see my heart's beloved and love him.

  39. لو كانْ يكن سُنّهْ

    فيمنْ لقي خِلُّو يعَنّقو

    If only it could be a custom

    for whoever meets his beloved to embrace him!