English translation

This beautiful poem by the prince of poets Ahmad Shawqi is a "pastiche" of Al-Qayrawani's (يا ليل الصب متى غده) and shares many similar themes. Shawqi begins by describing how he has been weakened by his lover and can find no sleep in his bed, and those who visit him in his ailment have reached a point where they grieve for him and wish him mercy as he verges on death. His heart is tormented and his eyelids wounded from tears and sleeplessness. His exclamations are such that even the birds in the heavens are attracted to them in sympathy, and the rocks melt in passion. His long discourse with the stars tire them, and he raises the once peaceful night and lowers it (i.e. unsettles it).
For his lover's beauty, he describes its uniqueness and superiority by swearing by the Prophet Yusuf (Joseph) peace be upon him, renowned for his beauty, and by the Quranic chapter named after him. The extent of his lover's beauty is such that those women who cut their hands in awe of Yusuf's beauty would wish to be reborn simply to witness Shawqi's loved one.
Shawqi now focuses on his lover's cheeks - saying then when his lover's eyes shot their arrows and shed Shawqi's blood, they denied their act, so the struck poet pointed to his lover's rosy cheeks that were so red it was as if they were stained with his own blood.
He goes on to describe how the love between them can never be spoiled by the hater or extinguished by the rejectors, and that the poet's love verges on not just madness but worship.
This worship is manifested in the next section when the poet names his lover (Mawlaya) "my lord", in whose hands rests the poet's soul, but his loved one has abandoned it, almost ending the poet's life. Nevertheless, the poet prays that those same hands always remain safe! He describes his fluttering heart as a ringing bell, and his ribcage as a temple in which his heart resides and worships his lover.
In the final section the poet swears by the pearly teeth of his lover's mouth, arranged like rubies in succession, that despite all that his lover has done to him, he has never betrayed his love, nor has a cool breeze ever passed by his inflamed heart.
A true masterpiece!