1. عَذولي لا تَلُمني في هِلالي

    وَلُم مَن لامَ ظُلماً فيهِ لا لي

    My reproacher, do not blame me for my crescent;

    and blame whoever unjustly reproaches me for him—not me.

  2. لَهُ وَجهُ الغَزالَةِ حينَ تَبدو

    ضُحىً وَفُتورُ أَلحاظِ الغَزالِ

    His is the face of the sun when it appears

    at midmorning, and the languor of a gazelle’s glances.

  3. وَمِن تَحتِ اللِثامِ هِلالُ عيدٍ

    سَناهُ أُعيذُ مِن عَينِ الكَمالِ

    And beneath the veil is a crescent of Eid,

    whose radiance I invoke protection for against perfection’s eye.

  4. وَما قَلبي بِخالٍ مِنهُ يَوماً

    فَكَيفَ وَخَدُّهُ بِالخالِ حالي

    My heart is never empty of him for a day;

    how could it be, when his cheek is adorned with a mole?

  5. وَأُقسِمُ لا سَلَوتُ الدَهرَ عَنهُ

    وَلَكِنّي عَنِ السُلوانِ سالي

    And I swear I shall never forget him through all time;

    but I have forgotten how to forget.

  6. تَمَلَّكَني هَواهُ وَكُنتُ حُرّاً

    وَأَرخَصَني الغَرامُ وَكُنتُ غالي

    Love for him enslaved me, though I had been free;

    and passion cheapened me, though I had been precious.

  7. يَسُلُّ مِنَ الجُفونِ السودِ بيضاً

    فَما أَنفَكُّ مِنها في قِتالِ

    He draws gleaming swords from his black eyelids,

    so I am forever in battle with them.

  8. أَنا البالي سَقاماً في هَواهُ

    وَحُبُّ سِواهُ لَم يَخطُر بِبالي

    I am worn away by sickness in love for him;

    and love for anyone else has never crossed my mind.

  9. مَحاسِنُهُ هَيولي كُلّ شَيءٍ

    وَمغناطيسُ أَفئِدَةِ الرِّجالِ

    His charms are the primal matter of everything,

    and the magnet of men’s hearts.

  10. لَهُ بَشَرٌ أَنيقٌ ناعِمٌ كَال

    حَريرِ يَشِفُّ لَمّاعَ الصِّقالِ

    He has lovely, tender skin, like

    silk, translucent and gleaming with polish.

  11. إِذا هُوَ قابَلَ الديباجَ أَبدى

    نُقوشاً مِنهُ مُحكَمَةَ المِثالِ

    When it faces brocade, it reveals

    its patterns, rendered in a flawless likeness.

  12. كَأَنَّ اللَهَ جَمَّعَ فيهِ لَمّا

    بَراهُ جَميعَ أَجزاءِ الجَمالِ

    As though God had gathered within him, when

    He created him, every element of beauty.

  13. تَرى قَوساً بِحاجِبِهِ وَراشَت

    لَواحِظُهُ سِهاماً بِالنِّصالِ

    You see a bow in his eyebrow; and fletched

    by his glances are arrows fitted with arrowheads.

  14. فَلِلتُّركِيِّ بَأسٌ أَيُّ بَأسٍ

    لَدى تَفويقِهِ عِندَ النِّضالِ

    For the Turk has prowess—what prowess!—

    when he nocks an arrow in the archery contest.

  15. يُرَنَّحُ في الكثيبِ قَضيبَ بانٍ

    رَشيقَ القَدِّ أَهيَفَ ذا اِعتِدالِ

    He sways upon the dune like a bān-tree branch,

    graceful in stature, slim-waisted, well-proportioned.

  16. وَيَبسِمُ عَن أَقاحٍ فَوقَ راحٍ

    وَعَن حبَبِ الكُؤسِ وَعَن لَآلِ

    And he smiles to reveal daisies above wine,

    and the bubbles of winecups, and pearls.

  17. يرى قَتلي الحَرامَ عَلَيهِ فَرضاً

    بِحُسنِ كَلامِهِ السِحرِ الحَلالِ

    He deems killing me, though forbidden to him, a duty,

    through the beauty of his speech, that lawful magic.

  18. لَهُ نَفسي الفِداءُ وَكُلُّ شَيءٍ

    يَعزُّ عَلَيَّ مِن أَهلٍ وَمالِ

    My soul is a ransom for him, and everything

    dear to me, of family and wealth.

  19. ذُؤابَتُهُ أَذابَتني سَقاماً

    بِطولٍ وَاِسوِدادٍ كَاللَيالي

    His tress has melted me away with sickness,

    by its length and blackness, like the nights.

  20. وَغادَرَني بِغَدرَتِهِ خَيالاً

    وَضَنَّ عَلَيَّ حَتّى بِالخَيالِ

    And his betrayal left me a phantom,

    and he denied me even his phantom.

  21. فَعِشقي فَوقَ غايَةِ كُلِّ عِشقٍ

    وَلَكِن لا سَبيلَ إِلى الوِصالِ

    So my passion exceeds the utmost limit of all passion,

    yet there is no way to union.

  22. فَمن عَينَيَّ جارِيَةٌ عُيونٌ

    وَلي قَلبٌ بِنارِ الهَجرِ صالي

    So springs flow from my two eyes,

    and I have a heart burning in separation’s fire.

  23. بِخَدَّيهِ وَوَجنَتِهِ دِماءُ ال

    كُماةِ وَطَرفُهُ يَدعو نَزالِ

    On his cheeks and cheekbone lies the blood of the

    armored warriors, and his glance cries, “To battle!”

  24. يُمِلُّ مَقاتِلَ الفُرسانِ قِدماً

    بِأَلحاظٍ عَجيباتِ الأَمالي

    He has long dictated the deaths of knights,

    with glances whose dictations are wondrous.

  25. نَديمي سَقِّني الصَّهباءَ صِرفاً

    وَنَزِّهها عَنِ الماءِ الزُّلالِ

    My drinking companion, give me tawny wine, unmixed,

    and keep it untainted by clear, sweet water.

  26. وَبادِرني بِها وَالكَأسُ مَلأى

    وَلا تَخلِط حَراماً بِالحَلالِ

    And hurry to me with it, the cup full,

    and do not mix the forbidden with the lawful.

  27. فَإِنَّ لَها دَبيباً في عِظامِ ال

    نَدامى كَالدَّبيبِ مِنَ النِمالِ

    For it creeps through the bones of the

    drinking companions like the creeping of ants.

  28. بِكِلتا راحَتَيكَ أَدِر عَلَينا ال

    حُمَيّا بِاليَمينِ وَبِالشِمالِ

    With both your palms, pass round to us the

    potent wine, with your right hand and your left.

  29. وَإِيّاكَ المِكاسَ لَدى شِراها

    فَما غالي مَسَرَّتِها بِغالِ

    And beware of haggling when you buy it,

    for even a high price for its delight is not too dear.

  30. فَأَبناءُ الهُمومِ دَواهُمُ مِن

    أَذى دُنياهُمُ بِنتُ الدَّوالي

    For sorrow’s children find their remedy for

    their world’s pain in the daughter of the vines.