أكرِمْ بوجه الراكبِ المُعِنقِ

أكرِمْ بوجه الراكبِ المُعِنقِ

يخبرُنا أنَّا غداً نلتقى

يخبرُنا أنَّا غداً نلتقى

How noble is the face of the hurrying rider!

Honor the face of the rider embracing his mount

He tells us that tomorrow we shall meet.

He tells us that tomorrow we will meet

حجابُ قلبي فُزْبهِ خلِعةً

حجابُ قلبي فُزْبهِ خلِعةً

فتحفةُ البشرَى على الشيِّقِ

فتحفةُ البشرَى على الشيِّقِ

My heart's covering—take it as a robe of honor;

The veil on my heart I cast off as a worn-out cloak

For the yearning lover owes a reward for glad tidings.

The glad tiding is a gift upon the ardent lover

تُراهُمُ زمُّوا بحملِ الصَّدَى

تُراهُمُ زمُّوا بحملِ الصَّدَى

رسالةَ العانى إلى المطلَقِ

رسالةَ العانى إلى المطلَقِ

Did they, I wonder, harness the echo to carry

You see them carry the burden of longing

The captive's message to the one set free?

The message of the lovelorn to the free spirit

واستفهموا الطيف وقالوا له

واستفهموا الطيف وقالوا له

تعلَم من عشَّاقِنا مَن بقِى

تعلَم من عشَّاقِنا مَن بقِى

And did they question the dream-phantom and say to it:

And they questioned the phantom, asking it

“Do you know who among our lovers remains?”

"Do you know who of our lovers remains?"

أنا الذي ضمَّتْ غَداةَ النقا

أنا الذي ضمَّتْ غَداةَ النقا

حبائلُ الأسِر ولم أُعتقِ

حبائلُ الأسِر ولم أُعتقِ

I am the one enfolded, that morning at al-Naqa,

I am the one whom on the morn of parting

By the snares of captivity, and I have not been freed.

The bonds of captivity seized, and I was not freed

وكلَّما أثبتَ راميهمُ

وكلَّما أثبتَ راميهمُ

أسهمَه قلتُ له فَوِّقِ

أسهمَه قلتُ له فَوِّقِ

And whenever their archer lodged

And whenever his archers proved true in aim

His arrows, I told him, 'Nock another!'

I told them "Aim higher!" though pierced by their arrows

ما أحذقَ الطاهي الذي عندكم

ما أحذقَ الطاهي الذي عندكم

أنضجَ بالنار ولم يُحرِق

أنضجَ بالنار ولم يُحرِق

How skillful is the cook you have!

How skilled is the cook you have

He cooked me through with fire, yet did not burn me.

He roasted with fire, yet did not burn

ليس أخمَى إلا بُسكَّانهِ

ليس أخمَى إلا بُسكَّانهِ

والشمسُ منها بهجةُ المَشرقِ

والشمسُ منها بهجةُ المَشرقِ

The abode [uncertain reading] is nothing without its dwellers;

There is no gloom but in its inhabitants

And the east's radiance comes from the sun.

The sun's radiance remains in the east

علىّ عَقْرُ البُدْن إن اصبحت

علىّ عَقْرُ البُدْن إن اصبحت

خيامُهم وهي رُبَى الأبرقِ

خيامُهم وهي رُبَى الأبرقِ

I vow the slaughter of sacrificial camels if, at dawn,

My chest bears the stab wounds if their tents

Their tents—those hillocks of al-Abraq—

Became, at daybreak, the dwellings of the shining white

مثل الأَداحىّ وبيضاتُها

مثل الأَداحىّ وبيضاتُها

تُحصنُ بالأبيضِ والأزرقِ

تُحصنُ بالأبيضِ والأزرقِ

Are like ostrich nests, and their eggs

Like the eggs of the grouse hen

Are guarded by white swords and blue spearheads.

Sheltered in white and blue

يا ماتحَ الماءِ عدِمتَ الرِّوَى

يا ماتحَ الماءِ عدِمتَ الرِّوَى

من جَفْر هذا القَلبِ كم تستقىِ

من جَفْر هذا القَلبِ كم تستقىِ

O drawer of water, may your thirst never be quenched!

O eradicator of the water springs! You have destroyed the meadows

How much water do you draw from the well of this heart?

How much can this arid heart still yield?

من شيمة الماءِ انحدارٌ فلِمْ

من شيمة الماءِ انحدارٌ فلِمْ

ماءُ فؤادى أبدا يرتقِى

ماءُ فؤادى أبدا يرتقِى

Water's nature is to flow downward—so why

It is the nature of water to flow downward, so why

Does the water of my heart forever rise?

Does the water of my heart never surge?

تحسبُ في أجفانيَ السُّحبَ أو

تحسبُ في أجفانيَ السُّحبَ أو

جودَ عميدِ الدولةِ المغدقِ

جودَ عميدِ الدولةِ المغدقِ

You would think my eyelids held clouds, or

You'd think in my eyes there were clouds, or

The bounty of Amid al-Dawla, the lavish giver.

The generosity of the mighty ruler who pours forth