أحببت بدراً ما له مشبهٌ

أحببت بدراً ما له مشبهٌ

في الحسن لولا أنه جافي

في الحسن لولا أنه جافي

I loved a full moon who has no equal

I loved the full moon, incomparably beautiful

In beauty—if only he were not aloof.

In its splendor, were it not so aloof

أحورُ في مقلته حجةٌ

أحورُ في مقلته حجةٌ

للعين والشين مع القاف

للعين والشين مع القاف

Dark-eyed, in his eye there is proof

The pupils of its eyes plead

For ʿayn and shīn together with qāf.

To the eye, the "sh" and the "q"

وفي ارتجاج الردف داعٍ إلى

وفي ارتجاج الردف داعٍ إلى

نونٍ وياءٍ قبل ما كاف

نونٍ وياءٍ قبل ما كاف

And in the quivering of his buttocks, a summons to

And in the undulation of its hips lies an invitation

Nūn and yāʾ before a kāf.

To an "n" and a "y" before the suffix

سألته الوصل فلم يحتشم

سألته الوصل فلم يحتشم

وقال قدم نقدك الوافي

وقال قدم نقدك الوافي

I asked him for intimacy; he was unabashed,

I asked it for union but it would not be shy

And said, “Pay your money in full up front.”

And said, bring your payment in full