1. Behold, my Layla al-Amiriya has come
To resent me from afar for another’s guilt,

2. Yet nothing I have done that she
Could punish me for where I know.

3. Rather, when a man tires of a companion
And schemes against a bosom friend,

4. He persists in causing estrangement. I have struggled
With what has caused this estrangement until I nearly despaired of life.

5. I have kept my silence until it is as though
I returned questioning suitors’ inquiries about you mute.

6. I did so to protect myself from the gossips and you,
Yet no living soul is safe.

7. I have continued to purify my love for you,
Seeking out its beauties until it is as though I were a criminal.

8. So do not spurn me when I have no recourse
Or advance behind me and no precedent with you.

9. A free spendthrift who frittered away his wealth
After prosperity has made himself destitute and miserable.