1. My apology to you is an uncontrollable passion
And the secret of my heartache you already know

2. O Rim, why this harsh estrangement
When your lover treats you with kindness and fairness

3. Show him mercy, a charity you can give
For the kindness of a cherished branch you used to be fond of

4. The radiance of your smile for him once shone
Tomorrow he will try to glimpse it and snatch it

5. O owner of beauty in its glory
That cast its shadow on the lovesick eyes

6. O you who denied intimacy after times
When affection between us was known

7. You unjustly severed the ties of kinship to one
Who adores you - will you not gift him your past favor?

8. They said your love made me exceed all bounds
But love at its noblest exceeds all bounds - Rim, exceed them!

9. Let the breeze blow and bring me your perfume, O
Life of Jacob, you are Joseph's sorrow

10. You were unfair, O slim waist, so
Your twisted waist has twisted my cloven heart

11. Did my rivals warp my words and you turned to them?
The words of a rival are but twisting lies

12. Would you plot against my love, betraying while
Each plot - God himself unravels it?

13. The softness of your mouth, and the wind perfumed
With heavenly musk - its perfect blend

14. The magic of your eyes, languid, glowing
Can entrance any heart whenever they glance

15. My tribesmen pass by and say to me
"What is this sickness - do you not know it?"

16. You were harsh, O hard-hearted one without cause
You betrayed, Rim, the affection you engendered

17. If estrangement's storms blow against a mountain
Surely from the earth's deep core it will unroot it

18. Be gentle with a heart whose heat of separation
Turned it inside out - have mercy, quench its fires

19. Love has states - you know them, so show love
At its most beautiful, make it kind and tender

20. As for your eyes from which I have no refuge
Except to seize the promise you began to break

21. Did you not see me, the eyes streaming tears
My humiliation weeping - stop and dry them

22. May God be gentle, for I have sinned
A grave sin - lighten it, I implore, relieve it

23. The night will testify that I spend two thirds of it
Burning in sorrow - be just.

24. Do not make tyranny your armor
How many sharp teeth the winds strip and erode it!

25. O heart, be patient, for God is generous
In each event He creates, He steers its outcome.