وَسَرْوَلَةٍ شَقَّ النَّسِيمُ رِدَاءَهَا

وَسَرْوَلَةٍ شَقَّ النَّسِيمُ رِدَاءَهَا

فَأبْدَتْ فُصُوصَ التِّبْرِ في الحُلَلِ الخُضْرِ

فَأبْدَتْ فُصُوصَ التِّبْرِ في الحُلَلِ الخُضْرِ

And a cypress—the breeze tore her robe,

The breeze tore the robe of the cypress tree

So she revealed gems of raw gold amid the green robes,

Revealing the waistcoat of green satin beneath

كَزَنْجِيَّةٍ وَشَّتْ بِجَزْعٍ وَشَمَّرَتْ

كَزَنْجِيَّةٍ وَشَّتْ بِجَزْعٍ وَشَمَّرَتْ

عن الساقِ ذَيْلا وَاكتستْ حُلَّةَ الشَّعْرِ

عن الساقِ ذَيْلا وَاكتستْ حُلَّةَ الشَّعْرِ

Like a black African woman who adorned herself with onyx and lifted

Like an Abyssinian woman who rolled up her sleeves

Her hem above her shin, and donned a robe of hair.

And raised her skirts above the ankles

إذاَ سُقِيَتْ كَأسَ البَهَا قُضْبُ سُوقِهَا

إذاَ سُقِيَتْ كَأسَ البَهَا قُضْبُ سُوقِهَا

أمَالَتْ رُؤُوساً لاَ تَمَلُّ مِنَ السُّكْرِ

أمَالَتْ رُؤُوساً لاَ تَمَلُّ مِنَ السُّكْرِ

When the slender boughs of her stems are given beauty's cup,

When she drinks from the cup of joy

They incline their heads, which never tire of drunkenness.

She inclines heads that know no surfeit of drink