1. Umamah has come near after the separation
Praise be to Allah, this is the day I meet her

2. Tottering away backwards, advancing coquettishly
Like the swaying of a leg whose bone its tendon supports

3. As if the anklets of a dune, adorned with them both
And the necklace's pendant, a sun in its rising

4. If only the lover could take her into
His bosom, out of wonder at what he sees in her

5. Neither leaning to one side, nor turning away are her pillows
Nor is her confidant ever tired of whispering to her

6. If only I knew—though man is ever hopeful
And the soul remembers best what never comes to it—

7. Will she ever consent to a life with me
Where Umamah returns and fulfils her promises?

8. Give Umamah the message that I've not forgotten her
Nor obeyed the slanderers behind her back

9. Nor betrayed any secret of hers I learned
Until the dove of death answers its caller

10. If only we were wild beasts, living together
Grazing the acacia's blossoms and hiding in its thickets

11. If only the wild doves circled me and her
Beneath the sky so we could live in their nests

12. If only she and I were on a lofty mountain
At the peak of an impregnable towering height

13. I have said "if only" too much, though it will not avail me
Nor will my soul's wishes be granted if I name them