1. قَضيتُ هَزيعَين من لَيلَتي

    وَحيداً أُسامِرُ نَرجيلَتي

    I spent two watches of my night

    alone, keeping my hookah company.

  2. وَكانون في خارِج الدار يَبكي

    فَيشتدُّ فيهِ دجى الظُلمةِ

    And Kanun wept outside the house,

    and there the gloom of darkness deepened.

  3. وَضَعتُ عَلى رُكبَتَيَّ حَراماً

    وَصِرتُ أُنغِّمُ في فَرشَتي

    I laid a blanket across my knees

    and began humming in my bed,

  4. إِذا برياحٍ من البابِ هبَّت

    وَأَطفَأَتِ النورَ من شَمعَتي

    when suddenly winds blew through the door

    and snuffed the light from my candle.

  5. فَلَمّا أَحاطَت بي الدامِساتُ

    وَبطَّن أَسوَدُها حُجرَتي

    Then, when the dark shadows surrounded me,

    and their blackest shade lined my room,

  6. تَبسَّم ثَغرٌ لِنَرجيلَتي

    كَعبدٍ تبسَّمَ في العَتمَة

    my hookah's mouth smiled,

    like a slave smiling in the darkness.

  7. فَما كانَ أَجملَ من ثَغرِها

    وَما كانَ أَعجَبَ مِن حيرَتي

    Nothing was lovelier than its mouth,

    and nothing was stranger than my bewilderment.

  8. تَحفَّ بتنبكِها زرقةٌ

    تُحاكي مراشِفَ نوريةِ

    A blue tinge encircled its tobacco,

    resembling a Gypsy woman's lips.

  9. وَلكِن رَاَيتُ بِها جاذِباً

    يُحَرِّكُ في داخِلي صبوَتي

    Yet I saw in it an allure

    that stirred my youthful passion within me.

  10. فَقَرَّبتُ من نارِها مرشفي

    وَأَسمَعتُها تقسة القبلَةِ

    So I brought my lip close to its fire

    and let it hear the smack of a kiss.

  11. وَلَو لَم يَكُن ثَغرها محرقاً

    لكنتُ اِمتَصَصتُ من الجَمرَةِ

    And had its mouth not been scorching,

    I would have sucked at the ember,

  12. لِأَنّي لَم أَدرِ ماذا بِها

    مِن العَذبِ يشبهُ محبوبَتي

    for I did not know what it held

    of sweetness that resembled my beloved.

  13. فَقُلتُ لَها إِنَّ بي لَوعَةً

    وَأَطلَقتُ في جَوفِها زَفرَتي

    So I said to it, “I burn with longing,”

    and released my sigh into its hollow.

  14. فَأَسمَعني صَدرُها زَفَراتٍ

    أَثارَت شُجونِيَ في مُهجَتي

    Then its breast let me hear sighs

    that stirred my sorrows in my heart.

  15. أَإِبنَةَ طهمازَ لَم تَزفري

    نَ وَأَنتِ أَنيسيَ في وَحشَتي

    “O daughter of Tahmaz, why do you sigh

    when you are my companion in my loneliness?

  16. رَأَيتُك رَمزاً لِكُلِّ شقِيٍّ

    رَماه الهَوى في لظى الشَقوَةِ

    I saw you as a symbol of every wretched soul

    whom passion hurled into misery's blaze.”

  17. أَجابَت أَنا الآنَ في نِعمَةٍ

    لِأَنَّ حَبيبيَ في نِعمَةِ

    It replied, “I am in bliss now,

    because my beloved is in bliss.

  18. وَلكِنَّني بَعد وَقتس قَصيرٍ

    أُغادَرُ وَحدِيَ في خُلوَتي

    But after a short time

    I am left alone in my solitude.

  19. فَيَبعدُ عَنِّيَ ثُغرُ مُحِبّي

    وَيَسلو الَّذي كانَ مِن لَوعَتي

    Then my lover's mouth draws away from me,

    and he forgets the anguish that was mine.

  20. لِذاكَ تَرانِيَ أَبكي زَماناً

    سَأصبِحُ فيهِ بِلا زَهوَةِ

    That is why you see me mourning a time

    when I shall be without splendor.

  21. فَإِنَّ الهَوى صدقُه كاذِبٌ

    يُشَبِّهُهُ العَقلُ بِالنِجمَةِ

    For love's very truth is a lie;

    reason likens it to a star:

  22. فَلا يَقبل الفَجرُ حَتّى تَراها

    أَمامَ عساكِرِهِ وَلَّتِ

    no sooner does dawn approach than you see it

    flee before his armies.”

  23. وَإِذ ذاكَ راود جَفني النعاسُ

    فَأَطيقَ أَنمُلُهُ مُقلَتي

    And then drowsiness wooed my eyelids,

    and its fingertips closed my eyes.

  24. وَلَمّا اِستَتبتَّ الكَرى في جُفوني

    شاهَتُ في الحُلمِ نَرجيلَتي

    And when sleep had settled firmly in my eyelids,

    I saw my hookah in a dream.