1. إِنَّ شِعري سارَ في كُلِّ بَلَد

    وَاِشتَهى رِقَّتَهُ كُلُّ أَحَد

    Indeed, my poetry has traveled through every land,

    And everyone has craved its tenderness.

  2. قُلتُ شِعراً في الغَواني حَسَناً

    تَرَكَ الشِعرَ سِواهُ قَد كَسَد

    I composed lovely verse about beautiful women,

    Leaving all other poetry unsought.

  3. أَهلُ فَرغانَةَ قَد غَنَّوا بِهِ

    وَقُرى السوسِ وَأَلطا وَسَنَد

    The people of Farghana have sung it,

    And the villages of al-Sus, Alta, and Sanad.

  4. وَقُرى طَنجَةَ وَالسُدِّ الَّذي

    بِمَغيبِ الشَمسِ شِعري قَد وَرَد

    And to Tangier's villages and the barrier that lies

    Where the sun sets, my poetry has come.

  5. زَعَمَت عَثمَةُ أَنّي لَم أَجِد

    في هَواها قُلتُ بَل وَجدي أَشَدّ

    ʿAthma claimed that I felt no longing

    In my love for her; I said, 'Rather, my longing is fiercer.'

  6. لَيتَ مَن لامَ مُحِبّاً في الهَوى

    قيدَ في الناسِ بِحَبلٍ مِن مَسَد

    Would that whoever blames a lover for love

    Were bound before the people with a rope of twisted fiber.

  7. مِرطُ عَثّامَةَ مَسدولٌ عَلى

    كَفَلٍ مِثلَ الكَثيبِ المُلتَبِد

    ʿAththama's wrap is draped over

    A rump like a densely packed sand dune.

  8. أَيُّها السائِلُ عَن لَذَّتِنا

    لَذَّةُ العَيشِ الرَعابيبُ الخُرُد

    O you who ask about our pleasure,

    Life's pleasure is soft, full-bodied, bashful maidens,

  9. وَغِناءٌ حَسَنٌ مِن قَينَةٍ

    وَرَياحينُ وَراحٌ تُستَجَدّ

    And lovely singing from a singing-girl,

    And fragrant herbs, and freshly replenished wine.

  10. ذاكَ أَشهى مِن رُكوبي بَغلَةً

    كُلَما حادَت لِسَرجي قُلتُ عَد

    That is more desirable than my riding a mule:

    Whenever she shies at my saddle, I say, 'Come back!'

  11. أَو رُكوبي الفَرَسَ الموجَ الَّذي

    كُلَّما رَكَّضَ بي قُلتُ أَجِدّ

    Or my riding the surging horse that,

    Whenever it gallops with me, I say, 'Go faster!'

  12. مَركَبُ الكَعثَبِ فيهِ لَذَّةٌ

    وَشَفاءٌ لِلفَتى مِمّا يَجِد

    Mounting the vulva brings pleasure

    And relief for a young man from what he suffers.