1. هذا الخليجُ فمَرْحَبا بزمانِهِ

    يا حَبَّذا الآصالُ بين جِنانِهِ

    Here is the canal—welcome to its season!

    Oh, how lovely the late afternoons amid its gardens!

  2. فامرحْ بطَرْفِك كيف شئتَ ترى به

    معنى يَفُكُّ القلبَ من أحزانه

    So let your gaze roam as you please; in it you will see

    a meaning that frees the heart from its sorrows.

  3. تَسْرِى الصَّبا في جانبيه عَليلةً

    فيَثور عرفُ المسكِ من ريحانه

    The east breeze drifts gently along its two banks,

    so musk’s fragrance rises from its basil.

  4. وتَهُبّ فوقَ إهابِه فتُعيده

    دُرّا يعز الطرفَ عند عِيانه

    And it blows over its skin, transforming it

    into pearls that dazzle the eye when beheld.

  5. فكأنّ وسوسةَ الغصونِ أحبَّةٌ

    كلٌّ يُبثُّ أخاه من ألحانه

    So the whispering boughs seem like dear companions,

    each sharing some of his melodies with his brother.

  6. حَنَّت دَواليبُ المياهِ وساعدتْ

    شَدَواتِ لحنِ الطيرِ في أغصانه

    The waterwheels sang plaintively and accompanied

    the birds’ melodic songs among its boughs.

  7. والشمسُ في أفق الغُروبِ كراحلٍ

    متأسِّفٍ بالبين عن أوطانه

    And the sun on the sunset horizon is like one departing,

    grieving at separation from his native lands.

  8. ذا منظرٌ لو أنصفوه سَعَى له

    كِسْرى أنو شروان من إيوانه

    This is a sight to which, were it given its due, would hasten

    Khosrow Anushirvan from his vaulted hall.

  9. لله أيامي به ومُساعِدِي

    من صَحَّ عِقْدُ السحرِ من أجفانه

    God, how fine my days there, and my companion,

    whose eyelids make enchantment’s covenant binding.

  10. من خَدِّه وَرْدِى ورَشْفِ رُضابه

    خَمْرى ونُقْلى مَصُّ طرْفِ لسانه

    My roses come from his cheek, and sipping his saliva

    is my wine, and my sweetmeat is sucking the tip of his tongue.

  11. يسعى بمِرِّيِّحٍ تَضمَّن قامةً

    كالسَّمْهَرى ولحْظُهُ كسِنانه

    He walks in a mirrih garment that enfolds a figure

    like a slender lance, and his glance is like its spearhead.

  12. فأروح في بُرْدِ الشبابِ وأغتدِي

    وزمامُ أمرِي في يَدَيْ شيطانه

    So I go forth at evening in youth’s mantle, and at dawn,

    with the reins of my affairs in his devil’s hands.