1. بدالي الحبيب ولاح القمر

    فجئ يا سمير وهئ يا سمر

    The beloved appeared to me, and the moon shone.

    So come, O night-companion, and get ready, O night-time talk.

  2. وخلف السياج الزهى احتفى

    بنا الروض لما ازدهى وازدهر

    And behind the splendid fence, we were welcomed

    By the garden, as it grew splendid and blossomed.

  3. عفا الزهر عنا بأنظاره

    لننعم من بعضنا بالنظر

    The flowers pardoned us with their glances,

    So we might delight in looking at one another.

  4. فكان الحبيب نصيب العيون

    وكان المحب حديد البصر

    Thus the beloved was the eyes' portion,

    And the lover was keen of sight.

  5. نظرت الجمال على وجهه

    فطالعت أجمل خلق الصور

    I gazed at the beauty upon his face,

    And beheld the loveliest of fashioned forms.

  6. وطالع مني الأليف الحنيف الذي

    ما عصى إلفه ما أمر

    And in me he beheld the upright companion who

    Never disobeyed his beloved, whatever he commanded.

  7. فما قال في مرة لفظةً

    تجر العتاب وتقضى الحذر

    So he never once uttered a word

    That invited reproach and called for caution.

  8. فطابت لنا جلسة في الهوى

    تحيط بنا مورقات الشجر

    So sweet was our sitting in love,

    With leafy branches of trees surrounding us.

  9. تعرض إحدى وريقاتها

    تنصف صورة وجه القمر

    One of their little leaves came between,

    Halving the image of the moon's face.

  10. فعاد هلالا وذاك العجيب أمن مد

    حسن الحبيب انجزر

    So it became a crescent—how strange! Did the tide

    Of the beloved's beauty make it ebb?

  11. ولسنا إلى الخمر في حاجةٍ

    وخمر الصبابة فينا اختمر

    And we have no need of wine,

    And the wine of longing has fermented within us.

  12. وأحلى من النوم فوق الحرير

    إذا طال رفق الحبيب السهر

    And sweeter than sleep upon silk,

    When the beloved's tenderness lingered, was wakefulness.

  13. وأعذب منه إذا رفني

    فذقت الرضاب وكان الحذر

    And sweeter still was when he kissed me,

    So I tasted his lips' nectar, while caution remained.

  14. وأجمل من ذلكم كله

    إذا لام ذوقي ثم اعتذر

    And lovelier than all of that

    Was when he chided me for tasting, then apologized.

  15. فعذر الحبيب كهجر الرقيب

    وظرف الزمان كلطف القدر

    For the beloved's apology is like the watcher's departure,

    And time's charm is like fate's kindness.

  16. وأمتع ما روح العاشقين امتثال

    الحياة لطبع البشر

    And the sweetest solace for lovers is the yielding

    Of life to human nature.

  17. يحن إلى الروح من فيه روح من

    النوع والكون فيه العبر

    Toward the soul yearns whoever bears a soul of

    The same kind; the universe holds lessons.

  18. أليف يميل إلى إلفه

    وأنثى يحن إليها الذكر

    A companion is drawn to his companion,

    And the male yearns toward a female.

  19. لقد قارب الليل أن ينتهي

    ولم نرو غلتنا في السحر

    The night had nearly reached its end,

    Yet we had not quenched our burning thirst before dawn.

  20. وخاف الحبيب الصباح الفصوح

    فقال النهار فقلت القمر

    And the beloved feared the telltale morning,

    So he said, 'Daylight!' and I said, 'The moon!'

  21. أغالط والفجر في خيطه ابيضاض

    وما كان يخشى ظهر

    I dissembled, though dawn's thread was whitening,

    And what he feared had appeared.

  22. فقال طغا الليل إذ غشنا

    فقلت انتصف ليلنا ما كفر

    So he said, 'The night transgressed when it deceived us.'

    I said, 'Our night took its due; it was not faithless.'

  23. سلبنا من الدهر ليل الهوى

    فكان السليب ونحن النور

    We stole from time a night of love,

    So time was the plundered one, and we the Gypsies.