1. رُبّ رِيمٍ رَام قَلبِي مُبرَمَا

    فِيهِ سَهماً جَاءَ عَن غَيرِ قسِي

    Many a gazelle has aimed at my heart, firmly lodging

    within it an arrow that came from no bow.

  2. مَن رَأَى ظَبَياً أرَانَا أَسهُمَا

    مِن لِحَاظِ كَعُيُونِ النَّرجَسِ

    Who has seen a gazelle showing us arrows

    from glances like the eyes of narcissi?

  3. يَا نَدِيمِي قُم صفَا وقتُ الهَنَا

    فَامل لي الكَأس وعجّل بالطُّلا

    O my drinking companion, rise: the hour of joy has become serene.

    Fill my cup, and hasten with the wine.

  4. وَأدِرهَا خَمرَةً تُولِي المُنَا

    فَزَمَانُ الأُنسِ بِالبشرِ حُلاَ

    And pass it round—a wine that grants wishes,

    for the time of companionship grows sweet with cheer.

  5. وحَكت بالأنجُمِ الرّوض السَّمَا

    إذ غَدت بالزّهرِ مِنها تَكتَسي

    And the sky, with its stars, mirrored the garden,

    as it came to clothe itself in blossoms of its own.

  6. وَحَبَا الأغصَانَ طُرزاً مُعلما

    حِينما ماس بأبهى ملبس

    And it bestowed richly patterned embroidery on the branches,

    when it swayed in the finest attire.

  7. ما ترى يا صاح أغصان الربى

    مايلات القد من خمر السحاب

    Do you not see, my friend, the branches on the hills,

    their forms swaying from the wine of the clouds?

  8. حَرّكَتها سَحرَةً أيدي الصّبا

    فصبا القلب إليها باكتئاب

    The hands of the east wind stirred them at dawn,

    and the heart yearned for them in melancholy.

  9. ومن الزهر على أعلى قبا

    ومن الروح لها أعلى قباب

    And a robe of blossoms lies upon their tops,

    and of the breeze, the loftiest domes are theirs.

  10. أقطَعَتها السُّحبُ داراً مثلما

    كست الروض بثوب دنس

    The clouds allotted them a dwelling, just as

    they clothed the garden in a soiled garment.

  11. وشذَا عرف نسيم هَينَمَا

    وكذا يفعل زاكي النفس

    And the fragrance of a breeze murmured softly,

    and thus acts one whose soul is pure.

  12. مَا لِلاحِ مُذ لَحضا طَاب الهَوى

    فِي حَبِيبٍ وجهُهُ يَحكي القَمر

    What can a reproacher do? Since that glance, love has grown sweet

    for a beloved whose face mirrors the moon.

  13. لَذّ لِي فِي حُبِّهِ مُرّ النَّوى

    وارتِكَابُ الهَولِ يَوماً إن خطَر

    In loving him, the bitterness of separation is sweet to me,

    as is braving terror one day, should it arise.

  14. مَا عَلَى مَن نَجمُهُ فِيهش هَوى

    حِينمَا صدَ دلالاً ونَفَر

    What blame is there on one whose star has fallen because of him,

    when he turned away in coquetry and fled?

  15. أحورِيّ اللَّحظِ مَعسُولُ اللَّمَا

    فَاحِمُ الشَّعرِ شَهِيّ اللَّعَسِ

    Dark-eyed in his gaze, honey-sweet in his dusky lips,

    coal-black of hair, with delectable, dark-tinted lips.

  16. ثَغرُهُ أبدى لنا برق السَّمَا

    وأثيث الشعر ثوب الغلس

    His mouth revealed to us the sky's lightning,

    and his luxuriant hair was a garment of predawn darkness.

  17. يَا لهُ بَدراً حمى طَيف الكرى

    قَدّهُ والعرف عضبٌ وأسَل

    Ah, what a full moon, barring the phantom of sleep!

    His stature and mane—a keen blade and spears.

  18. فِي دُجَى شَعرٍ له بَدرٌ سَرى

    وبِشَمسِ الوَجهِ لَيلٌ قد َنَزَل

    Through the darkness of his hair, a full moon journeyed by night,

    and beside the sun of his face, night has descended.

  19. خِلتُ فِي جفينه سَادَ الشَّرَى

    وَعلَى أعطَافِهِ لَيلُ سُدِل

    I fancied al-Sharā holding sway within his eyelid,

    while over his shoulders a night was draped.

  20. سَاحِرُ المُقلَةِ مَعشُوقُ الدّما

    قَمَرُ الأُفُقِ وَظَبيُ المِكنَسِ

    Enchanting of eye, beloved of beautiful maidens,

    the moon of the horizon and the gazelle of the covert,

  21. ذُو لِحَاظٍ كَم أرَاقَت مِن دِما

    وَهيَ تُزرِي بِالجِوَارِ الكُنَّسِ

    possessed of glances—how much blood they have shed!

    And they put the coursing, retreating stars to shame.