وَرَقصٍ كَشِعرِيَ في الإِفتِنانِ

وَرَقصٍ كَشِعرِيَ في الإِفتِنانِ

إِذا حَثَّ حُثَّت كُمَيتُ الدِنانِ

إِذا حَثَّ حُثَّت كُمَيتُ الدِنانِ

And a dance like my poetry in its inventiveness—

With dancing like my hair in rapture

When he spurs it on, the jars’ dark-red wine is spurred on too—

When urged, the pot of fat shook

لِأَهيَفَ قَد بانَ في قَدِّهِ

لِأَهيَفَ قَد بانَ في قَدِّهِ

مِنَ الحُسنِ ما لَيسَ في غُصنِ بانِ

مِنَ الحُسنِ ما لَيسَ في غُصنِ بانِ

Of a slender-waisted youth, whose figure reveals

For the slender one has appeared in his form

A beauty not found in a branch of the bān tree.

Beauty not found in the boughs of Bān

قَصيدَةُ رُؤياهُ طَنّانَةٌ

قَصيدَةُ رُؤياهُ طَنّانَةٌ

وَمَقطوعُ لُقياهُ حُلوُ المَعاني

وَمَقطوعُ لُقياهُ حُلوُ المَعاني

The ode of beholding him resounds,

An ode, his dream is mellifluous

And the brief poem of meeting him is sweet in meaning.

And the encounter of his meeting is sweet meaning

تُشيرُ إِشارَتُهُ بِالسُرورِ

تُشيرُ إِشارَتُهُ بِالسُرورِ

فَنَقبَلُ مِن رَأيِها كُلُّ رانِ

فَنَقبَلُ مِن رَأيِها كُلُّ رانِ

His gesture signals joy,

His gestures hint with happiness

So we—all who gaze—accept its counsel.

So we accept from its view every flexible one

كَأَنَّ اللَباقَةَ قَد أُفرِغَت

كَأَنَّ اللَباقَةَ قَد أُفرِغَت

لَنا مِن مَقاطِعِهِ في أَوانِ

لَنا مِن مَقاطِعِهِ في أَوانِ

As though grace had been poured out

As if etiquette was poured out

For us from his cadences into vessels.

For us from his phrases in its time