الحسن مكانك معبده

الحسن مكانك معبده

واللحظ فؤادي مغمده

واللحظ فؤادي مغمده

Beauty—your dwelling is its shrine;

Beauty has your dwelling for its temple,

and your glance—my heart is its sheath.

And the glance has my heart for its sheath.

يا سيدتي هذا حر

يا سيدتي هذا حر

لم يعرف قبلك سيده

لم يعرف قبلك سيده

O my lady, here is a free man

O my lady, this is a free man,

who knew no master before you.

Who knew no master before you.

الليل وطيفك يعرفه

الليل وطيفك يعرفه

إن كان فؤادك يجحده

إن كان فؤادك يجحده

Night and your phantom know him,

The night and your phantom know him,

even if your heart denies him.

Even if your heart denies him.

كم يوحي طرفك لي غزلاً

كم يوحي طرفك لي غزلاً

وأنا في شعري أنشده

وأنا في شعري أنشده

How much love-poetry your glance inspires in me,

How much love verse your gaze inspires in me,

and I chant it in my verse.

And I recite it in my poetry.

وتساجلني الأطيار هوى

وتساجلني الأطيار هوى

في الدوح أبيت أردده

في الدوح أبيت أردده

The birds vie with me in songs of love;

And the birds vie with me in love,

among the great trees I spend the night repeating it.

Among the spreading trees, I spend the night repeating it.

للصبح سناؤك أبيضه

للصبح سناؤك أبيضه

لليل غرامي أسوده

لليل غرامي أسوده

Your radiance is the whitest white of dawn;

Your radiance is the whiteness of dawn;

my passion, the blackest black of night.

My passion is the blackness of night.

أحببت قلاك فمطلقه

أحببت قلاك فمطلقه

عندي عذب ومقيده

عندي عذب ومقيده

I have loved your disdain—unfettered,

I have loved your disdain: its unbridled form

it is sweet to me, and fettered as well.

Is sweet to me, as is its restrained form.

إن ضل حنانك عن قلبي

إن ضل حنانك عن قلبي

فلهيب ضلوعي ترشده

فلهيب ضلوعي ترشده

Should your tenderness stray from my heart,

If your tenderness strays from my heart,

the flame within my ribs will guide it.

Then you guide it to the blaze of my ribs.

قد بات دلالك يخذله

قد بات دلالك يخذله

وجمالك كان يؤيده

وجمالك كان يؤيده

Your coyness has now begun to thwart it,

Your coyness has come to forsake it,

though your beauty once sustained it.

And your beauty used to sustain it.

زيدي تيهاً أزدد كلفاً

زيدي تيهاً أزدد كلفاً

كلفي إن رث أجدده

كلفي إن رث أجدده

Grow still prouder; I shall grow still more enamored.

Grow more haughty; I shall grow more infatuated.

If my passion wears threadbare, I renew it.

If my infatuation grows threadbare, I renew it.

شوقي إن بنت يضاعفه

شوقي إن بنت يضاعفه

صبري إن جرت يؤكده

صبري إن جرت يؤكده

If you depart, it doubles my longing;

My longing doubles it if you depart;

if you wrong me, it strengthens my patience.

My patience reinforces it if you are cruel.

خلان هما شمسا فلك

خلان هما شمسا فلك

طرفي مع طرفك يرصده

طرفي مع طرفك يرصده

Two intimate companions, twin suns of one firmament—

Two companions—they are the twin suns of a celestial sphere

my gaze, beside yours, keeps watch upon it.

That my gaze, together with yours, keeps watch upon.

فصلي بالله ولو حلماً

فصلي بالله ولو حلماً

مضناك جفاه مرقده

مضناك جفاه مرقده

So grant me union, by God, if only in a dream—

So, by God, join—even in a dream—

me, your love-sick one, whom his own bed has shunned.

Your lovesick one, whose bed has forsaken him.

وعديه اليوم ولو كذباً

وعديه اليوم ولو كذباً

الصب بماطله غده

الصب بماطله غده

And promise him today, even falsely:

And promise him today, even if falsely;

the lover’s tomorrow belongs to the one who keeps him waiting.

The lovesick one's tomorrow lies with the one who keeps him waiting.