1. I concealed my love and abandoned my beloved
And harbored in my heart a wondrous yearning

2. My abandonment was not out of hatred
But fear of defects befalling him

3. I will keep to myself and conceal his secrets
And for as long as I live, guard the unseen from him

4. So many extending their hands for our union
I held them back, they attained no share

5. Oh you with whom I was content with all
I have faced from his love, in error or aright

6. Oh you whom desire called me to
And I responded when he called me, compliant

7. Oh you whom I clung to in my youth
And grew up still not ready to grow old

8. By my life, those who claim
That hearts reward hearts have lied

9. If what they claim were true
No beloved would spurn a beloved

10. How can it be as I wish
A beloved who sees my virtues as sins

11. I have not seen your like in all the world
Half so thick, half so thin

12. For if you tread on dust
You would add more sweetness to the sweet dust