1. هذه دارُها وتلك رُباها

    نمّ عنها شميمُها وسناها

    This is her house, and those are her hills.

    Her fragrance and radiance betrayed her.

  2. هذه دارُها تنادى غريباً

    عن حماها ما شامها أو رآها

    This is her house, calling to one estranged

    from her sanctuary, who had never glimpsed or seen her.

  3. هذه دارُها وقد أمرَ اللي

    لُ أخاهُ الشيطانُ أن يرعاها

    This is her house, and night has commanded

    its brother, Satan, to watch over her.

  4. فأتى دون ناظري فطواه

    وأتى دون ظلّها فطواها

    He came before my gaze and veiled it,

    and came before her shadow and veiled her.

  5. هذه دارها وقد كان عهدي

    بسواها ألّا نضاعف جهدى

    This is her house, though my agreement

    with another was that we would not redouble my effort.

  6. ما لرجليّ تشردان عن النهج

    كاني مشرّدٌ يستجدى

    Why do my feet stray from the path,

    as though I were a vagrant begging?

  7. ما لكَفَّيَّ أسقطا ويح جدّي

    أيُّ دار أذمّها اليوم وحدي

    Why have my hands fallen helpless? Alas for my fortune!

    What house do I condemn today, alone?

  8. شاه وجه الشيطان مالي أراه

    يتلقّى عزيمتي بالتحدي

    Foul be Satan's face! Why do I see him

    meeting my resolve with defiance?

  9. عجباً هذه مهاةٌ تذوب

    في أكفٍّ تسليمُها تشبيب

    How strange! This is an oryx doe melting

    into hands whose greeting is love poetry.

  10. كلّما دقّ ساقها رقصَ النه

    دُ وفاحت من جانبيها الطيوب

    Whenever her leg tapped, her breast

    danced, and perfumes wafted from her sides.

  11. وإذا شاقها المنام دهاها

    من وراء الحجاب صوتٌ غضوب

    And whenever sleep enticed her, there assailed her

    from behind the curtain an angry voice:

  12. اذكرينا أنضاءَ جوعٍ وسهد

    وتناسَي أن الطعام ذنوبُ

    Remember us, wasted by hunger and sleeplessness,

    and forget that food is sin.

  13. شغَلَتني بروحها الغلاب

    عن حريق يشبُّ في أصلابي

    She distracted me with her overpowering spirit

    from a fire flaring in my loins.

  14. ورَمتني بنظرَة ثم قالت

    ما رأينا سواك من هيّاب

    And she struck me with a glance, then said:

    We have seen no timid man but you.

  15. هذه الدار لم تهيّأ لغيري

    من ضحايا الندمان والأحباب

    This house was prepared for no one but me

    among the victims of drinking companions and lovers.

  16. لا تخيّب رجاء شاة رماها

    عاصف الياس في محيط الذئابِ

    Do not disappoint the hope of a ewe flung

    by despair's gale into a sea of wolves.

  17. وإذا بي أجيب كفّاً بكفّ

    وأُلَبّي بضمّها صوتَ حتفى

    And suddenly I answered a hand with a hand,

    and, embracing her, heeded the voice of my doom.

  18. أحسبُ الدار تستحيل عبابا

    ثائرَ الموج من ظلامٍ وخوف

    I imagine the house becoming a heaving sea,

    its waves raging with darkness and fear,

  19. أو يبابا تزمزِمُ الجنّ فيه

    وترى العين رقصة المتشفّى

    or a wasteland where jinn mutter,

    and the eye sees the dance of one who gloats.

  20. وأرى الحائط المغيب في الظلمة

    شطّا يبدي الظلام ويخفى

    And I see the wall, lost in the darkness,

    as a shore that darkness reveals and conceals.

  21. قلت يا هذه أنيري طريقي

    جفّ حلقي فما يندّيه ريقي

    I said: You there, light my way;

    my throat is dry, and my saliva cannot moisten it.

  22. وإذا همسةٌ ممزّقة الجر

    س صداها كهمهمات الغريق

    Then came a whisper with a fractured

    sound, its echo like a drowning man's murmurs:

  23. أيّها الطارق الغريب تمهّل

    إنّ عهدَ الأيّام غير وثيق

    O stranger at the door, take your time;

    the days' pledge is not secure.

  24. ها هنا قصةٌ يمثّلها البؤ

    س على مسرح الهوى والرحيق

    Here is a story acted out by

    misery on the stage of passion and nectar.

  25. ما ترى ذلك الخيالَ الملثّم

    غاب في خاطر الدجى وتكتّم

    Do you not see that veiled apparition?

    It vanished into the mind of darkness and kept its secret.

  26. تلك أمّي ولست أعرف أُمّاً

    ولَدَتني والدهر بالسر أعلم

    That is my mother, though I know no mother

    who bore me; Time knows the secret better.

  27. عثرت مثل عثرَتي بصخور

    فوقها زورق الحياة تحطم

    She stumbled, as I stumbled, against rocks

    upon which the boat of life was shattered.

  28. ثم أمسَت ذكرى شباب وحسنٍ

    تلهم الدمع أن يذلّ فيسجم

    Then she became a memory of youth and beauty,

    inspiring tears to yield and flow.

  29. أنا في دارها أعيشُ غريبه

    وتراني فيها كأني نسيبه

    I live in her house as a stranger,

    yet you see me there as though I were kin.

  30. عقَدَتني بها من الحظّ قُربى

    فكلانا من أختها محبوبه

    A kinship of fortune has bound me to her,

    for each of us is beloved by her sister.

  31. غيرَ أنّي أعولُها وأُرَجّي

    لشبابي من الحياة نصيب

    Except that I support her, and still hope

    for a share of life for my youth,

  32. قبل أن يذهب الشباب وأبقى

    وأنا من سحر الشباب سليبه

    before youth departs and I remain,

    robbed of youth's enchantment.

  33. حيّها حيّها فقلت سلاما

    يا بنة الليل والطّلا والندامى

    Greet her, greet her! So I said: Peace,

    O daughter of night, of wine, and of drinking companions.

  34. وتضاحكت مطرق الراس فكراً

    في جمال عاف الحياة فناما

    And I laughed, head bowed in thought

    of a beauty that had spurned life and fallen asleep.

  35. يا بنة الليل حدثي لا تراعى

    ربما فسر المنام المناما

    O daughter of night, speak; do not be frightened.

    Perhaps a dream may explain a dream.

  36. نحن ألغازَ ساحر عبقري

    جعل الموتَ للحياة لزاما

    We are the riddles of a brilliant magician

    who made death inseparable from life.

  37. ثورةٌ في جوانحي ليس تهدا

    وخيال يفنى الكوارثَ عدّا

    An uprising within my breast will not subside,

    and an imagination exhausts calamities by counting them.

  38. أيّ غيبٍ ضمّته تلك التهاويلُ

    وايّ اليومَين أطيب وردا

    What unseen realm did those terrors hold,

    and which of the two days offers the sweeter draught?

  39. أهو يوم الميلاد ينضح بشرا

    أم هو اليوم يطعم الأرض ولدا

    Is it the day of birth, exuding joy,

    or the day that feeds the earth a child?

  40. ذاك سرٌّ علمته حين راحت

    تتعزّى وخِلتُها تتحدى

    That was a secret I learned when she began

    to console herself, though I thought she was defiant.

  41. قال لي صمتها وقلت لصمتي

    كيف مالت بك الليالي ومِلت

    Her silence spoke to me, and I said to my silence:

    How the nights have swayed you—and you have yielded!

  42. أي شيء جنيته من لياليك سوى

    ضجعةٍ وحلمٍ امشِتّ

    What did you reap from your nights besides

    a repose and a dream [unclear word]?

  43. اينَ ولّى عنك الصبا وهو سوقٌ

    للغواني كسبنَهُ وخسِرتِ

    Where has youth gone from you? It was a market

    for fair women: they profited in it, while you lost.

  44. وأتاكِ المشيب وهو جدوبٌ

    نفخَت فيك روحه فذبُلتِ

    And gray age came to you, a barren waste;

    its spirit breathed into you, and you withered.

  45. وتمثّلتُ وجهها محرابا

    لعيون تحسو الفناءَ شرابا

    And I pictured her face as a sanctuary

    for eyes that sip annihilation as a drink,

  46. من بقايا أذنَينِ ملّا الدعابا

    وبقايا خدّين عافا الخِضابا

    among the remnants of two ears weary of banter

    and the remnants of two cheeks that had spurned rouge.

  47. وهنا معبد الشفاه أحالته

    سموم الدخان قفراً يبابا

    And here, the temple of the lips was turned

    by smoke's poisons into a barren wasteland.

  48. والبلى ناشرٌ جناح غرابٍ

    ظنّه الناس شعرَها المنسابا

    And decay spreads a raven's wing

    which people mistook for her flowing hair.

  49. أيّ كون محجّبُ الأسرار

    خلف عينيك يا بنة الأقدار

    What universe of veiled secrets lies

    behind your eyes, O daughter of destinies?

  50. كم رعيتِ السمار أشباح جنّ

    تتخفّى عن واعظِ الأبصار

    How many night revelers have you tended—phantoms of jinn

    hiding from the admonisher of eyes!

  51. قبرَ السحر في الجفون وماتت

    نظراتُ الإغراءِ للسمّار

    Enchantment was buried in the eyelids, and there died

    the looks that tempted the night revelers.

  52. قبرَ السحر في الجفون ونامت

    فوقَهُنَّ الأهدابُ كالصبار

    Enchantment was buried in the eyelids, and there slept

    above them the lashes, like cacti.

  53. زوجَ إبليس وهو كالنفس عبدٌ

    وإله لأنفس لا تعدُ

    Wife of Iblis—he, like the soul, is a slave

    and a god to souls beyond counting—

  54. حدثيني عنه فقد كان عقلى

    يصطفيه إذا جفاني زهد

    tell me of him, for my mind once

    chose him whenever asceticism forsook me.

  55. مثلته أجسادكُنّ جمالاً

    فهو فيكنّ شائع لا يحدّ

    Your bodies embodied him as beauty,

    so he is spread among you, without bounds.

  56. كلما جاع ملهم أشبعتهُ

    قبلات الهوى وروّاه شهد

    Whenever an inspired soul grew hungry, he was sated

    by kisses of passion, and honey quenched his thirst.

  57. أي روحٍ ألقت عليّ هداها

    حينما خلتُها ستفغرُ فاها

    What spirit cast its guidance upon me

    when I thought she would open her mouth?

  58. قلت هذا حديثها سوف تحكي

    ه وكم في شبابها قد حكاها

    I said: This is her tale; she will tell

    it—and how often in her youth it told of her,

  59. يوم كانت ألفاظها تتثنّى

    رقةً لم يبلغ رحيقٌ مداها

    when her words used to sway

    with a tenderness no nectar ever matched.

  60. وإذا باليقين يعصفُ بالشكّ

    فتهوى على يدى راحتاها

    Then certainty sweeps away doubt,

    and her two palms fall onto my hand.

  61. خفق النور خفقة المرتاع

    فعرفتُ الوداعَ قبل الوداع

    The light fluttered like one startled,

    and I knew farewell before farewell.

  62. ملءُ كفّي ورأسُها يتداعى

    وعناءٌ عليّ هذا التداعي

    My hands were full, and her head was sinking,

    and that collapse was anguish to me.

  63. إيه يا ربُّ ما عصيتُك جهلا

    بل صغالاً من شقوتي واندفاعي

    Ah, Lord, I did not disobey You out of ignorance,

    but [unclear word], from my wretchedness and impetuousness.

  64. فاجل عني الظلام كيما أرى الم

    وت نجاءً من قبضة الأطماع

    So clear the darkness from me, that I may see

    death as deliverance from the grip of greedy desires.

  65. وعطَت نحو مسمعي بعظام

    رُكّبت بين صدرها والهام

    And she stretched toward my ear with bones

    set between her chest and skull,

  66. وأسرّت إليّ أن حصحصَ الحقّ

    وخابت شماتةُ اللوّام

    and whispered to me that the truth had come to light

    and the reproachers' gloating had failed:

  67. لا حلالٌ ولا حرامٌ ولكن

    راحةٌ من متاعب الأيام

    neither lawful nor forbidden, but

    rest from the troubles of days.

  68. فإذا الجسم في طريق التدني

    وإذا الروح في طريق التسامى

    Then the body was on the path of decline,

    and the spirit on the path of ascent.

  69. أشفقت بنت دارها من ذهولي

    ورأتني كحظّها المخبول

    The daughter of her house grew alarmed at my daze,

    and saw me as crazed as her fate.

  70. فنضَت ثوبها وقالت عجيبٌ

    أمرُ هذا المتيّم المجهول

    She stripped off her dress and said: Strange

    is the plight of this unknown, love-stricken man!

  71. ما لكفّيه لا تحسّان كفّي

    وهي بعضٌ من حسنى المبذول

    Why do his hands not feel my hand,

    which is a part of the beauty I offer?

  72. ويحها لا تدري الفجيعة إلّا

    يوم فقدانها حفيف الذيول

    Alas for her! She knows tragedy only

    on the day she loses the rustle of trailing hems.

  73. قلت يا من سقطت في الناس قدرا

    سخرَ الموتُ من نواياك طرّا

    I said: You whose worth has fallen among people,

    death has mocked all your intentions.

  74. هذه أمّكِ الحبيبة قد ما

    تَت فشُقّى لها بصدرك قبرا

    This beloved mother of yours has

    died; cleave a grave for her in your breast.

  75. فأفاقت من غشية الإثم هونا

    وعوَت صرخةً تساقطُ جمرا

    Then she slowly woke from sin's swoon

    and howled a cry that rained embers.

  76. فصحبت الظلام طائف ليل

    لم تشاهد عيناه من قبلُ فجرا

    So I walked with darkness, a phantom of the night,

    whose eyes had never before seen dawn.

  77. وتخطّيت ساحة الأجساد

    جامدَ العين مُستكين الفؤاد

    And I crossed the courtyard of bodies,

    my eyes fixed, my heart subdued.

  78. أيّ ذنب جنَيته أيّ ذنب

    حين خلفتها بلا إسعاد

    What sin had I committed, what sin,

    when I left her without bringing happiness?

  79. ما تراها تقولُ إذ فقَدتني

    خدنَ همٍّ وُرودُه من قتاد

    What do you think she says, now she has lost me,

    a companion of sorrow whose roses are thorn-bushes?

  80. حسبها قاسم الحظوظ وحسبي

    بعد حينٍ ندامة الزهّاد

    The divider of fortunes suffices her; enough for me,

    after a while, is the remorse of ascetics.

  81. وعرَتني سكينةُ الأموات

    ورَثتني مدامع الحسرات

    And the stillness of the dead came over me,

    and tears of regret lamented me.

  82. وسمعت الشيطان يلقى بسمعي

    طرفاً من آياته الخالدات

    And I heard Satan cast into my hearing

    a portion of his eternal verses:

  83. لا تلُم من تعيش في كنَفِ العِر

    ضِ فقد آدها صراع الحياة

    Do not blame one who lives in the shelter of

    honor; the struggle of life has burdened her.

  84. ربّما ضمّ شامخٌ مومِسُ النفس

    وفي وجهها حياءُ فتاةِ

    A lofty one may embrace a woman whorish in soul,

    while her face bears a maiden's modesty.