1. رَحِمُ الأُمّ لَعنَةٌ أَنتَ مِنهُ

    في دِمائي كانَت وَفي أَعراقي

    The mother's womb—a curse from which you came,

    that was in my blood and in my veins,

  2. أَم عِقاب لما تَسَّحقَّ مِن حُ

    بّيَ في لِذَّتي وَفي أَشواقي

    or punishment for what was crushed of my

    love, in my pleasure and in my longings?

  3. حمَلَت أَمك القنوط إِلى وَج

    هيَ وَكنتَ الرجاءَ في أَعماقي

    Your mother brought despair to my

    face, though you had been hope in my depths.

  4. جِئتَ في سحنَة المسوخِ فَلِم حَطَّ

    متَ حِلماً نَما عَلى أَحداقي

    You came with the countenance of monsters; why did you

    shatter a dream that grew upon my pupils?

  5. أَلِأَنّي بَذَلت حُبّي وَلَم أُط

    عِمكَ مِنهُ سِوى الفَتات الباقي

    Is it because I lavished my love and did not

    feed you any of it but the leftover crumbs?

  6. عِشتَ في مُقلَتَيَّ ساعَة هَول

    حَجَرَت غَصَّتي عَلى إِشفاقي

    You dwelt in my eyes for an hour of horror;

    my choking grief restrained my compassion,

  7. وَأَرَتني كَأَنَّني في جُثام

    عالِماً فيكَ موحِش الآفاقِ

    and showed me, as though I were in a nightmare,

    a world within you, its horizons desolate.

  8. فَرَأَيت المَسخ المُخيف عَلى أَك

    مَلِ حُسنٍ وَالقزمُ في العملاقِ

    So I saw the fearsome monstrosity upon the most

    perfect beauty, and the dwarf within the giant;

  9. وَلِسانَ الثُعبانِ في قُبلَةِ الصِ

    دّيقِ وَالسمّ في الشَرابِ الواقي

    and the serpent's tongue in the kiss of the

    righteous man, and poison in the protective draught;

  10. وَسمعتُ الفَحيحَ في النَغَمِ العَذ

    بِ وَصَوتَ العَدُوِّ في الميثاقِ

    and I heard hissing in the sweet

    melody, and the enemy's voice in the covenant.

  11. كَم نُفوسٍ رَأَيتُها تَلفظ الأَث

    مَ فَيَرقى مِنها إِلى الأَرياقِ

    How many souls I saw spit out

    sin, only for it to rise from them into their saliva!

  12. لَذَّة الإِثمِ كَيفَ تَمقَتها النَف

    سُ وَيَحلو عَصيرُها في المَذاقِ

    The pleasure of sin—how it is loathed by the

    soul, yet its juice tastes sweet!

  13. كَم فَتى يَسعر الجَحيم بِعَينَي

    هِ وَفي القَلبِ لِلسَّماءِ مَراقِ

    How many a youth kindles hell with his

    eyes, while in his heart are stairways to heaven!

  14. وَلَقَد يَنصُر الجَحيم فَيردي

    بَعضُهُ ما بِبَعضِهِ مِن خلاقِ

    And he may indeed champion hell, so that

    one part of him destroys the virtue in another.

  15. وَسَمِعتُ الحَياةَ تَهتِفُ في نَف

    سي فَيصدي الهتاف في أَبواقي

    And I heard life cry out within my

    soul, and the cry echoed in my trumpets:

  16. أَهلك المائِتونَ في رَحَمي الحُ

    بَّ وَسَمّوا الزَلال في تِرياقي

    In my womb, mortals destroyed

    love, and poisoned the pure water in my antidote;

  17. فَطرحتُ الأَقزامَ في أَسواقي

    عَبراً لِلدمارِ في العُشاقِ

    so I cast the dwarfs into my marketplaces,

    as warnings of the ruin among lovers.

  18. وَرَأَيتُ الفِردَوسِ لَفَّت أَفاعي

    هِ غُصوني وَكَمَّشت أَوراقي

    And I saw Paradise; its serpents coiled around

    my branches and shriveled my leaves.

  19. وَتَراءَت ليَ الطَبيعَةُ دُنيا

    مِن كَمال نسيقَة الأَذواقِ

    And nature appeared to me as a world

    of perfection, harmonious in its tastes.

  20. فَرَأَيتُ الجَماد شَبعان حُبّاً

    كلُّ صَدرٍ عَلَيهِ ثديٌ ساقِ

    So I saw inanimate matter sated with love,

    every chest bearing a breast that gives drink.

  21. إِنَّ في الحُبِّ صورَةَ اللَهِ لكِن

    أَينَ في الخَلقِ صورَةُ الخَلّاقِ

    Truly, in love is the image of God, but

    where in creation is the image of the Creator?