أفدي التي كلّف الفؤادُ من أجلِها

أفدي التي كلّف الفؤادُ من أجلِها

بالعودِ حتى شفّى إطرابا

بالعودِ حتى شفّى إطرابا

I would ransom her, for whose sake my heart was enthralled

I ransom with my life she who has burdened my heart

by the oud, until it brought soothing rapture.

With the lute till it cured its turmoil

تاهَتْ بجمعِ صناعتَيْن وأظهرَتْ

تاهَتْ بجمعِ صناعتَيْن وأظهرَتْ

كِبْراً بذاك وأُعْجِبَتْ إعجابا

كِبْراً بذاك وأُعْجِبَتْ إعجابا

She gloried in combining two arts, and displayed

She excelled in two crafts and showed

haughty pride in that, quite taken with herself.

Arrogance for that and was self-admiring

قالت فضَّلتك بالغِناء وأنت لا

قالت فضَّلتك بالغِناء وأنت لا

تَشْدو وكنّا مثلَكُم كتابا

تَشْدو وكنّا مثلَكُم كتابا

She said, “I have surpassed you in song, while you do not

She said, "I have favored you with singing while you

sing; and we were scribes like you.”

Do not chant," and we were like you writing

فَعُنِيتُ بالأوتار حتى لم أدعْ

فَعُنِيتُ بالأوتار حتى لم أدعْ

نَغَماً ولم أُغْفل لهُن حسابا

نَغَماً ولم أُغْفل لهُن حسابا

So I applied myself to the strings until I left

So I busied myself with the strings until I left

no note untouched, nor overlooked their reckoning.

No melody and did not neglect a reckoning for them

وأَلِفْتُها فأغار ذاك على يَدِي

وأَلِفْتُها فأغار ذاك على يَدِي

قَلمي وعاتَبَها عليَّ عتابا

قَلمي وعاتَبَها عليَّ عتابا

And I grew fond of them; this stirred jealousy over my hand

And I befriended it, so that was hard on my hand,

in my pen, which reproached them on my account.

My pen, and she blamed me for blaming

فجعلتُ للقرطاس جانِبَ صدرهِ

فجعلتُ للقرطاس جانِبَ صدرهِ

وجعلتُ جانب عجزه مِضرابا

وجعلتُ جانب عجزه مِضرابا

So I assigned its front end to the paper,

So I made the paper's side his chest

and made its rear end a plectrum.

And I made the side of his weakness a plectrum