قسما وعيش هواك من عهد الصبا

قسما وعيش هواك من عهد الصبا

لسواك قلبي في المحبة ما صبا

لسواك قلبي في المحبة ما صبا

I swear by the life of my love for you since the days of youth:

I swore and lived for your love since the days of youth,

my heart has never inclined in love toward anyone but you.

None but you my heart inclined to love and it poured,

يا غصن بان أطلعت من وجهها

يا غصن بان أطلعت من وجهها

قمرا ومن تلك الذوائب غيهبا

قمرا ومن تلك الذوائب غيهبا

O bān-tree bough, you have brought forth from her face

O branch that rose from her face as a moon,

a moon, and from those tresses, a pitch-black night.

And from those curls a hidden planet,

في ليل شعرك ضلت الشعرا وكم

في ليل شعرك ضلت الشعرا وكم

زمر ضحى ذاك الجبين لهم سبا

زمر ضحى ذاك الجبين لهم سبا

In the night of your hair the poets lost their way; and how many

In the night of your hair I lost track of the Pleiades, and how many

bands has that brow’s morning light taken captive!

A morning star dawned on that forehead to which they bowed,

لام العذول على هواك جهالة

لام العذول على هواك جهالة

حسدا وحرف في المقال واطنبا

حسدا وحرف في المقال واطنبا

The reproacher blamed me for loving you, out of ignorance,

The censurers blamed your love out of ignorance,

out of envy; he twisted his speech and went on at length.

Envy and verbosity in speech and prattle,

أيروم تقييدي بمطلق عذله

أيروم تقييدي بمطلق عذله

اني أرى جهل العذول مركبا

اني أرى جهل العذول مركبا

Does he seek to bind me with his unrestrained reproach?

Do they hope to shackle me with the unfettered blame,

Indeed, I see the reproacher’s ignorance as twofold.

When I see the ignorance of censurers is a ship sailed away.