1. أخا القرب أني منك في القرب والنوى

    اصرح بالودّ القديم وتمذقُ

    O close companion, near to you or far away, I

    declare my old affection openly, while you dilute yours.

  2. محضتك حبّاً لو تقابلني به

    لأقبل من بغداد للحب فيلقُ

    I gave you pure love; if you returned it to me,

    a legion would come from Baghdad for love.

  3. وجرّبت اخوان الزمان فلم اجد

    صفيّاً اخا صدق يقول فيصدقُ

    I have tested the companions of these times, but have not found

    a devoted friend, a sincere brother who speaks and proves true.

  4. ايا صاح اهواء النفوس غرائزٌ

    فمني الهوى خلق ومنك تخلقُ

    O friend, the passions of souls are instincts;

    my love is innate; yours is an affectation.

  5. كذاك هوى العشاق في دعوة الهوى

    فبعضٌ لهم عشقٌ وبعض تعشقُ

    Such is lovers' passion in their claims of love:

    some have true love, while others merely affect it.

  6. تخلقت في خلق جديدٍ عهدتُه

    قديماً هو الخمر الرحيق المعتقُ

    You have taken shape in a new form that I knew

    long ago: it is pure, aged wine.

  7. واني على هجري اهجِّر ناشئاً

    هل الركب من تلقاء دجلة يخفقُ

    Though forsaken, I set out early, rising to ask:

    Is the caravan astir from the direction of the Tigris?

  8. فلولاك ما حنّ الغريُّ لدجلةٍ

    نزوعاً ولا اشتاقت لبغداد جُلَّق

    Were it not for you, al-Ghari would not yearn for the Tigris

    with longing, nor would Jilliq pine for Baghdad.

  9. أَعِدلي حديث الفرع منك مُطولاً

    فما بعده الاَّ الحديثُ الملفَّقُ

    Repeat to me, at length, your tale of the tresses;

    for after it there is only fabricated talk.

  10. وصف ليَ ذاك الاشنب الثغر واختصر

    على خصرٍ منه فأنك مغرقُ

    Describe that fresh, white-toothed mouth to me, and be brief

    about his waist, for you go to excess.

  11. وعلمك اني لستُ اعرف عادة

    يُعوِّدنيها طائش اللب احمقُ

    By your knowledge that I recognize no habit

    that a reckless, scatterbrained fool would accustom me to,

  12. لأنكرت حتى مجلس الدوح غدوة

    وقد ضمَّنا ذاك الرواق المسردقُ

    I would surely deny even our morning gathering beneath the great trees,

    though that canopied portico had brought us together,

  13. اذا الطير تشدو والنواعير هتَّفٌ

    ودجلة تنزو والغصون تصفِّق

    when the birds sang and the waterwheels cried aloud,

    and the Tigris leapt and the branches clapped;

  14. واذ نحن فيه محدقين جميعنا

    نشاوى لنا فيه صبوحٌ ومغبق

    and when we were all gathered in a circle there,

    intoxicated, with morning and evening draughts to drink;

  15. واذ قرقف الشرب الندامى مدامةٌ

    واذ قرقفي ذاك الرضاب المروّق

    and when the drinking companions' wine was aged wine,

    while my wine was that clear, filtered saliva.

  16. ويشرقني بالريق منك مقبَّلٌ

    شهيٌّ بنسق اللؤلؤ الرطب ينسق

    And your kissable mouth chokes me with saliva,

    sweet, arrayed with a row of moist pearls.

  17. وزونجيّ خالٍ فوق ورديّ وجنةٍ

    نصوعٌ بريا العنبر الورد يعبق

    And a Zanj-black mole above a rose-colored cheek,

    radiant, its rose fragrant with the scent of ambergris.

  18. يروقك منه اتحميٌّ مسهمٌ

    ترقُّ حواشيه وقرطٌ وقرطق

    An arrow-patterned Athami garment of his delights you,

    with delicate hems, and an earring and a short tunic;

  19. ومنصلتٌ خدٌّ واجيَدُ ناعمٌ

    ومحلولكٌ جعدٌ وخصرٌ ممنطق

    and a smooth cheek and a soft, long neck,

    and pitch-black curls and a belted waist.

  20. اذا همّ بالسلوان قلبي يردُّه

    الى الكوخ قلبٌ لي هناك معلَّق

    Whenever my heart resolves to forget, it is drawn back

    to the hut by a heart of mine that hangs there.

  21. يهيم لُهام الجيش وجداً بحدّه

    ولما يفق الاَّ وهامٌ مفلَّق

    The army's mighty host is love-mad over his edge,

    and never comes to its senses but with heads split open.

  22. اقلِّب قلباً فيه للشوق طائف

    وعينا بفيض الدمع تطفو وتغرق

    I turn over a heart haunted by longing's specter,

    and an eye that floats and drowns in a flood of tears.

  23. واطبق اجفانا تُعلَّل بالكرى

    لعل خيالا منك للعين يطرق

    And I close eyelids soothed with sleep,

    hoping an image of you may visit my eye by night.

  24. وحسبيَ لي قلبٌ عليك مولّه

    ودمعٌ سكوب في الخدود مرقرق

    Enough for me: I have a heart distraught for you,

    and streaming tears, rippling over my cheeks.

  25. اعرني حياة ان اردت سلامتي

    والا فدع يقضي الحمام المفرق

    Lend me life if you desire my safety;

    otherwise, let death, the separator, pass judgment.

  26. لَبات على النار الخليل صليتها

    وبات عليها يصطليها المحلَّق

    Al-Khalil would surely spend the night upon the fire I have endured,

    and al-Muhallaq would spend it there, warming himself at it.

  27. ترفَّق بخلٍّ لم يخنك مغيبه

    فأن الرفيق الخل بالخل يرفق

    Be gentle with a friend who has not betrayed you in his absence;

    for a gentle friend treats his friend gently.

  28. وهل يتَّقي سهمٌ لعين وحاجب

    فتلك له تبري وذاك يفوِّق

    Can an arrow from an eye and an eyebrow be warded off?

    For the former sharpens it, and the latter nocks it.

  29. اخا الحسن خذ منّي اليك فريدة

    اذا انشدت في محفل الجمع يحنق

    O brother of beauty, receive from me a peerless jewel,

    which, when recited at a gathering, makes the assembly seethe.

  30. يجرُّ جريرٌ ذيلهُ معجباً بها

    ويهتزُّ مرتاحاً اليها الفرزدقُ

    Jarir trails his hem, admiring it,

    and al-Farazdaq sways in joyous response to it.

  31. لك الذهب الابريز في الشعر مذهب

    لحوبٌ طريقاه اللجين المطرق

    For you, pure gold forms a path through poetry,

    a broad road whose two tracks are hammered silver.

  32. احبَّاي طال البُعد بيني وبينكم

    دعوتكم والشوق يدعو الحقوا الحقوا

    My loved ones, separation between me and you has lasted long;

    I have called you, and longing calls: 'Join me, join me!'

  33. اناديكم والقلب معي بدائه

    دفينا وهل قلب من الداء يفرقُ

    I call to you, my heart with me in its sickness,

    buried—does a heart fear illness?

  34. على غصصٌ في الصدر لو حلّ وقعها

    من الشيخ في راس الفتى شاب مفرق

    Choking griefs burden my breast; if their impact fell

    from an old man onto a youth's head, his hair-parting would turn gray.

  35. لسوّفتموا لي القرب عنقاء مغرب

    تزفّ على طول النوى وتحلِّقُ

    You have put me off: reunion has become a far-flying Anqa,

    fluttering across the long separation and soaring.

  36. اجنّ اذا ما الليل جنَّ كأنما

    يقوم لكم في امِّ رأسي اولقُ

    I go mad whenever night falls, as though

    a frenzy for you arose in the core of my head.

  37. واغرى لكم والليل يكبو بأدهم

    الى ان عدا من موكب الصبح ابلقُ

    And I am enamored of you as night stumbles on a black steed,

    until a piebald steed gallops from morning's procession.

  38. ذوى عود انسي او تعود لعهودكم

    فيرجع عودي وهو ريَّان مورقُ

    My branch of joy has withered, unless you return to your pledges,

    then my branch will revive, well-watered and leafy.

  39. اليكم يحنُّ القلب ما ناح طائرٌ

    على الألف او حنَّت الى الوردانيق

    My heart yearns for you as long as any bird laments

    for its mate, or she-camels long for the watering place.