دونَ الحِمى والرَّملِ من يَبرينه

دونَ الحِمى والرَّملِ من يَبرينه

سربُ تَصيدُ الأُسدَ أعيُنُ عِينهِ

سربُ تَصيدُ الأُسدَ أعيُنُ عِينهِ

Before the protected pasture and the sands of its Yabrin,

Beyond the fever and sand, who will redeem him?

A herd whose wide-eyed gazelles' eyes hunt lions:

A flock that hunts the lion, the eyes of its eye.

مِن كلِّ جائلةِ الوشاحِ يزينُها

مِن كلِّ جائلةِ الوشاحِ يزينُها

قدٌّ يميلُ معَ النَّسيمِ ولينهِ

قدٌّ يميلُ معَ النَّسيمِ ولينهِ

Of every maiden whose sash hangs loose, adorned

Of every herd of ailments that adorn it

By a figure that sways with the breeze and its softness;

A nape that sways with the breeze and its tenderness.

وأغنَّ مرهوبِ اللِّحاظِ إذا سَطا

وأغنَّ مرهوبِ اللِّحاظِ إذا سَطا

كانت ظباهُ البيضَ سودُ جفونهِ

كانت ظباهُ البيضَ سودُ جفونهِ

And a soft-voiced one with dreaded glances—when he strikes,

And the warbler of the armored feathers, when it flew

His black eyelids are his white sword-blades.

Were the antelopes of the egg the blacks of its eyelids.

ولعَ الصبِّا بقَوامِه فأمالَه

ولعَ الصبِّا بقَوامِه فأمالَه

ولعَ الصبَّا يومَ الحِمى بغُصونهِ

ولعَ الصبَّا يومَ الحِمى بغُصونهِ

Youth was enamored of his figure and made it sway,

And the zephyr leaned into his stature and inclined him

As the east wind loved its boughs that day at the protected pasture.

And the zephyr on the day of fever into its branches.

يا مُستريحَ القلبِ مِن ألمِ الجوى

يا مُستريحَ القلبِ مِن ألمِ الجوى

حاشاكَ من دائي ومرِّ دفينهِ

حاشاكَ من دائي ومرِّ دفينهِ

O you whose heart is free from the pain of passionate longing,

Oh heart's respite from the pain of passion

May you be spared my sickness and the bitterness hidden within it.

Far be you from my malady and the bitterness of its burial.

لا يغرُرنَّكَ حيُّ وادي المنحنى

لا يغرُرنَّكَ حيُّ وادي المنحنى

فالسمهريَّةُ شرعٌ من دونهِ

فالسمهريَّةُ شرعٌ من دونهِ

Do not let the clan of Wadi al-Munhana beguile you:

Let not the living wadi of winding deceive you

For slender spears are leveled before it.

For the Samharis are a law of their own.

إياكَ عن ذاك المحلِّ وإن حَلا

إياكَ عن ذاك المحلِّ وإن حَلا

لأخي الصبَّابةِ فيهَ ريبُ مَنونهِ

لأخي الصبَّابةِ فيهَ ريبُ مَنونهِ

Keep away from that place, even if it is sweet:

Beware of that place, even if it allures

For the lover, the perils of his doom lie there.

My brother the young man, doubt creeps in his intention.

فحمامُه كبُزاتهِ وظِباؤهُ

فحمامُه كبُزاتهِ وظِباؤهُ

كأسُودهِ وكِناسُه كعَرينهِ

كأسُودهِ وكِناسُه كعَرينهِ

For its doves are like its hawks, and its gazelles

For his pigeons are like his disgrace, his antelopes

Like its lions; its gazelles' covert is like its lions' den.

Like his lions, and his companion like his den.