1. أَرَأَيْتِ صَوْغَ الدُّرِّ فِي العِقْيَانِ

    هَذَا حَبَابُ الْبُنِّ فِي الْفِنْجَانِ

    Have you seen pearls set in pure gold?

    This is coffee foam within the cup:

  2. فَلَكٌ تُمَثِّلُ شَمْسُهُ وَنُجُومُهُ

    أَفْلاكَنَا فِي السَّيْرِ وَالدَّوَرَانِ

    A celestial sphere whose sun and stars mirror

    Our heavens in their motion and rotation.

  3. لَيْلَى أَجِيلِي الطَّرْفَ فِيهِ تَنْظُرِي

    سِرَّ الْكِيَانِ وَآيَةً الأَزْمَانِ

    Layla, turn your gaze within it, and you will see

    The secret of existence and a marvel of the ages.

  4. تَجِدِي سَمَاوَاتٍ وَسِعْنَ عَوَالِماً

    فَتَّانَةَ الإِبْدَالِ وَالإِتْقَانِ

    You will find heavens encompassing worlds,

    Enchanting in their transformations and perfection,

  5. مَنْثُورَةَ الأَفْرَادِ مَنْظُومَةً

    جَمْعاً بِمَا لا تُدْرِكُ الْعَيْنَانِ

    Their members scattered, yet strung

    Together by what the two eyes cannot perceive;

  6. سَيَّارَةً بَيْنَ الجِهَاتِ حَوَائِراً

    مُرْتَادَةً فِي البَحْثِ كُلَّ مَكَانِ

    Roaming from one direction to another, bewildered,

    Exploring every place in their search.

  7. كُلٌّ يَصِيرُ إِلَى حَبِيبٍ مُرْتَجًى

    حَتَّى يُدَانِيَهُ فَيَلْتَصِقَانِ

    Each moves toward a hoped-for beloved,

    Until it nears that beloved, and the two cling together;

  8. فَيَذُوبَ كُلٌّ مِنْهُمَا فِي صِنْوِهِ

    وَكَذَاكَ يَحْيَا بِالْهَوَى الصِّنْوَانِ

    Then each of the two melts into its twin,

    And thus the two kindred ones live through love.

  9. جِسْمَانِ يَغْتَدِيَانِ جِسْماً وَاحِداً

    كَتَوحُّدِ الحَبَبَيْنِ يَقْتَرِنَانِ

    Two bodies become a single body,

    Like two bubbles becoming one as they unite.

  10. رُوحَانِ تَمْتَزِجَانِ حَتَّى تُصْبِحَا

    شِبْهَ الصَّبَا وَالطِّيبِ يَمْتَزِجَانِ

    Two souls mingle until they become

    Like the east wind and perfume mingling.

  11. تِلْكَ الْحَيَاةُ عَتِيدُهَا وَمَصِيرُهَا

    حَتَّى يَكُونَ الحُبُّ آخِرَ فَانِي

    Such is life—its present state and its destiny—

    Until love is the last to perish,

  12. إِذْ تُنْثَرُ الشُّهُبُ المُنِيرَةُ مِثْلَمَا

    تَنْهَلُّ أَدْمُعُ عَاشِقٍ وَلْهَانِ

    When the shining meteors are scattered, just as

    The tears of a lover distraught with love pour down;

  13. وَتَذُوبُ فِي لَهَبِ الشُّمُوسِ هَوَانِئاً

    وَبِهَا الشُّمُوسُ تَذُوبُ وَهْيَ هَوَانِي

    And melt blissfully in the suns' flames,

    And through them the suns melt, blissful too;

  14. وَيَكُونُ يَوْمَئِذٍ شِفَاءُ غَلِيلِهَا

    وَمَتَاعُهَا وَفَنَاؤُهَا فِي آنِ

    And on that day the quenching of their burning thirst,

    Their pleasure and their extinction will come in the same instant.

  15. قَالَتْ أَذَاكَ مَصِيرُنَا فَأَجَبْتُهَا

    أَلسَّعْدُ آخِرُ شِقْوَةِ الإِنْسَانِ

    She said, "Is that our destiny?" I answered her:

    Happiness is the end of human misery.

  16. وَهُوَ الْحَيَاةُ نَعِيشُهَا فِي لَحْظَةٍ

    مَجْمُوعَةَ الأَفْرَاحِ وَالأَحْزَانِ

    And it is life, which we live in a single moment,

    With all its joys and sorrows gathered together.

  17. عُودِي إِلَى الفِنْجَانِ أَيْنَ شُمُوسُهُ

    وَالطَّائِفَاتُ بِهَا مِنَ الأَكْوَانِ

    Return to the cup: where are its suns

    And the worlds that circle them?

  18. عَاشَتْ عَلَى شَوْقٍ فَلَمَّا أَدْرَكَتْ

    أَوْطَارَهَا مِنْ مُلْتَقًى وَقِرَانِ

    They lived in longing, and when they attained

    Their desires for meeting and union,

  19. زَالَتْ وَمَا أَبْقَى الْهَوَى مِنْهَا سِوَى

    عِطْرٍ يَضُوعُ هُنَيْهَةً وَدُخَانِ

    They vanished, and love left nothing of them but

    A fragrance wafting for a moment, and smoke.