1. على أبوابِ باخرةٍ

    كتاجٍ فوقَ رأس البحر

    At the doors of a steamship,

    like a crown atop the sea's head,

  2. تلاقينا وكانَ الوقتُ

    قبلَ الحبِّ، بعدَ الظهر

    we met, and the time was

    before love, after noon.

  3. نظرتُ ولم أُطل، لكنْ

    رأتني حينَ كنتُ أمُر

    I looked, and did not linger, but

    she saw me as I was passing.

  4. فرحتُ أُديرُ أنظاري

    وأُظهرُ طلعةَ المُغتر

    So I began turning my gaze about,

    and wearing a self-satisfied look.

  5. وكسرى بينَ عينيها

    يُنفِّضُ عنهُ تُربَ القبر

    And Kisra, between her eyes,

    shakes the grave's dust off himself.

  6. فبَادَرها ببسمتهِ

    صديقي تحت جُنحِ السر

    So he hastened to greet her with his smile—

    my friend, under cover of secrecy.

  7. فصادتهُ صديقتُها

    بعينٍ مثلَ عينِ الصقر!

    Then her friend caught him

    with an eye like a falcon's!

  8. تركتُهما بغيِّهما

    فقلبي عندَ ذاتِ الخصر

    I left them both to their folly,

    for my heart was with the shapely-waisted one.

  9. دنوتُ ولم أقل شيئاً

    ولم يغنِ اصطناعي الكِبر

    I drew near and said nothing,

    nor did my feigned pride help.

  10. لساني العيُّ يأكلُه

    وكم من قبلُ قال الشعر!

    Speechlessness devours my tongue,

    and how often before it had recited poetry!

  11. كعادتهِ إذا أهوى

    يضيقُ ولو ببعض النثر

    As is its habit when I fall in love,

    it falters even over a little prose.

  12. لقد كانت على قدرٍ

    منَ التحليق يُردي النَسر

    Indeed, she was at such a height

    of flight as would bring an eagle down.

  13. وشامتُها التي خُلقت

    بلا مأوى، بأعلى الثغر

    And her beauty mark, which was created

    without a shelter, above her mouth,

  14. معاذ الله لم تقتُل

    ولكن أفقدتني الصبر!

    God forbid—it did not kill,

    but it robbed me of patience!

  15. وبعدَ ترددٍ مُرٍّ

    دعاني وجهُهَا المُحمَر

    And after bitter hesitation,

    her reddened face beckoned me,

  16. وأنفٌ شامخٌ زهواً

    وجيدٌ طاعنٌ بالسّحر

    and a nose held high in pride,

    and a neck that pierced with magic.

  17. فقلتُ لها، وقالت لي

    ولا أُنبيكَ كيفَ الطُّهر

    So I spoke to her, and she spoke to me,

    nor will I tell you what purity was like.

  18. بقينا بضعَ ساعاتٍ

    نسيتُ بها صديقي البَر

    We stayed a few hours,

    during which I forgot my good friend.

  19. فهل نَسيَت صديقتَها؟

    لها واللهِ مثلي العذر

    Did she, then, forget her friend?

    By God, she has the same excuse as I.

  20. وصلنا ليتَ رحلتنا

    استمرَّت يا هوايَ الدهر

    We arrived—if only our journey

    had lasted, O my love, forever!

  21. لماذا عندما نهوى

    يمرُّ الوقتُ مرَّ العُمر؟

    Why, when we fall in love,

    does time pass as life passes?

  22. نزلنا من سفينتنا

    إلى برِّ الفراقِ المُر

    We disembarked from our ship

    onto the shore of bitter parting.

  23. وودعنا اللتينِ على

    فؤادينا سكبنَ الحِبر

    And we bade farewell to the two women who, upon

    our two hearts, had poured ink.

  24. صديقي شاردٌ وأنا

    بلا شُربٍ بلغنا السُّكر

    My friend, lost in thought, and I

    had become drunk without drinking.

  25. وعدنا بعد نصف الليل

    فوقَ الخيرِ فينا الشّر!

    And we returned after midnight,

    with evil in us above the good!

  26. فيالكِ من نويعمَةٍ

    أرتني اليُسرَ بعد العُسر

    Oh, what a gentle little one you are,

    who showed me ease after hardship!

  27. ويالكِ من مُضلِّلَةٍ

    حُرمتُ بها صلاةَ الفجر!

    And what a temptress you are—

    through whom I was denied the dawn prayer!