صُنعت كأجنحةِ الحمائم خِفةً

صُنعت كأجنحةِ الحمائم خِفةً

كادت تطيرُ معَ الرّياحِ الخُفقِ

كادت تطيرُ معَ الرّياحِ الخُفقِ

It was fashioned as light as the wings of doves.

She was made delicate as a dove's wings,

It nearly flew with the gusting winds.

Almost flying with the fluttering winds.

وَهفت على أيدي القِيان كأنّها

وَهفت على أيدي القِيان كأنّها

رَخَمٌ تُرفرفُ في السّماء وتلتقي

رَخَمٌ تُرفرفُ في السّماء وتلتقي

And it fluttered on the singing slave-girls' hands, like

She sighed upon the hands of her tormentors as if

Vultures fluttering in the sky and coming together.

She was a dove fluttering in the sky and uniting.

وتكلّمت تحتَ القضيبَ كأنّما

وتكلّمت تحتَ القضيبَ كأنّما

نغماتها من حنةِ المُتشوقِ

نغماتها من حنةِ المُتشوقِ

And it spoke beneath the rod, as though

She spoke under the stick as if

Its notes came from the moan of one who yearns.

Her tones were from the longing of an ardent lover.

يتكسرُّ الماشي بها فترى لهُ

يتكسرُّ الماشي بها فترى لهُ

خُيَلاءَ جبّارٍ وخِفّةَ أولقِ

خُيَلاءَ جبّارٍ وخِفّةَ أولقِ

The one walking with it sways, so you see in him

The walker in it breaks as you see him

A tyrant's swagger and the flightiness of madness.

Having the arrogance of an unjust tyrant and the delicacy of a fawn.

ويُؤخّرُ الأقدامَ بعد تقدُّمِ

ويُؤخّرُ الأقدامَ بعد تقدُّمِ

رَقص الحباب على الغديرِ المُتأقِ

رَقص الحباب على الغديرِ المُتأقِ

And he draws his feet back after stepping forward,

And he delays his feet after the advancement

Like bubbles dancing on the brimming pool.

Of the dance of the beloved on the flowing stream.