مرت فلامس شعرها شعري

فاذا الهوى بجوانحي يسري

She passed, her hair touching mine

She passed, and her hair brushed against mine,

And desire stirred in my heart

And sudden passion flowed through my ribs.

مرت ولم أرها سوى نبأ

عذب البشائر ذاع في صدري

She passed, I saw naught but tidings

She passed, unseen by me save as a tiding,

Sweet and joyous in my chest

Of sweet good news spreading within my chest.

القلب يعرفها بمشيتها

بالظل بالأنفاس بالعطر

My heart knows her by her gait

The heart knows her by her very gait,

By her shadow, breath, and scent

By her shadow, her breaths, and her scent.

يا ليت شعرينا اذ اعتنقا

عقدا فما انفرطا مدى الدهر

Would that our hair had embraced

Oh, would that our hair, when they embraced,

In a knot none might untie

Had knotted tight, never to part for all time.

بل ليت مسرعة الخطى وقفت

ووقفت حتى ساعة الحشر

Would that she had paused in her swift steps

Nay, would that she of hasty steps had halted,

Paused for a moment before the Gathering

And I had stood waiting until the Day of Judgment.

أشكو الغرام لها فتبسم لي

وتلين ان أسمعتها شعري

I complain of love to her, and she smiles at me

I would pour out my love, and she would smile at me,

Softening if she hears my verse

And soften when she heard my poetry.

أدعوك واسمك لست أعرفه

دعوات حر ضاق بالأسر

I call you though I know not your name

I call to you, though your name I do not know,

A free man's calls in captivity

The calls of a free soul narrowed by captivity.

آنست منك تطلعا ملكت

نظراته الجماح من فكري

I sensed you by a promise that possessed

I sensed a glance from you that captured

Glances to unlock thought

The wild wanderings of my thoughts within its gaze.

أفغن هوى ما كان من تظرء

أم كان لهوا عاجل المر

Did love lead what was not fate's decree

Was it a whim of love born of a glance,

Or did fate hasten what love deferred?

Or was it merely amusement, fleeting and bitter?

بوحي بسرك لا بل اتئدي

أخشى الأسى ان بحت بالسر

I confess your secret, no, I restrain

Reveal your secret—no, rather, hold it back,

Fearing sorrow if the mystery's revealed

For I fear sorrow if the secret is told.

فدعي الفؤاد يعيش مغتبطا

جذلان ما بين الرؤى الزهر

Let my heart live content

So let the heart live on in joy,

Forever happy between visions and flowers

Jubilant amidst the blooming visions.

يا ليتني وقد ابتعدت مدى

قبلت ما لامست من شعري

Would that when you went too far

Oh, how I wish, as you moved far away,

I had kissed what my hair caressed

I had kissed the strands of my hair you touched.

بل ليت ما لامست منه غدا

حمراء مشرقة من الزهر

Would that what it caressed tomorrow

Nay, I wish what you touched of it became

Were red, radiant petals

A radiant red blossom of flowers,

تكسين شعرك من مفاتنها

ثوبا من الألاء والنشر

That you might adorn your hair with her charms

With whose charms you might adorn your hair,

A gown of brilliance and scattering

A garment of shimmer and sweet fragrance.