1. Destiny led him, so he took shelter in a meadow
Where no bird had sung before, and he sang

2. He perched atop a branch and glanced around
At what was to the left and right

3. And behold, the meadow a delight to the soul, fragrant
With shade and allure to the eye, beauty

4. As though the pond amidst some trees
And guidance, each time it leveled out or meandered

5. Above it fruitful date palms sway
With hanging fruits and bending sprigs

6. Content, he strolls lost in thought, but if
The crag's embrace blocked his way, he'd avoid it

7. Thus does the absent-minded lover become
After a time, he who was absent-minded

8. The strange nightingale went circling the meadow
Until the sun settled, bidding day farewell

9. He went to roost on the branches, but
How can one lost in thought sleep?

10. The meadow had, beyond what he wished for
Of fruits and flowers aplenty

11. But no bird sings there
What good is a meadow without birds?

12. And unease crept in, since he found
Only a reptile in its lair

13. And traces of a predator, its claws
Bloodstained.

14. What misfortune befell you, flock of birds?
What secrets lie in this meadow?

15. Dawn rose, following a night
Whose darkness resembled the womb, pregnant

16. With roaring ghosts, naked,
Bloody hands, pelting

17. Stones from hell, all sharp shards,
And an eclipse where the moon

18. Spoke with the maw of the whale, portending doom
That was the night which did away with the trapped nightingale

19. Had a hand not reached out for him
The queen whose throne is the horizons, and whose

20. Crown is her greatest beauty in the east
She saved him, so he rose singing gratefully

21. Circling playfully, greeting her respectfully
Queen of rivers

22. Goddess of the Two Horizons
The ancients reached out

23. To you, hands extended
And burned in prayer

24. Their vigor and minds
And craned their necks

25. Draw near, come closer
O night, dawn is

26. The symbol of life on earth
Its breaths in the dunes

27. Its soul in the seeds
Have you not seen the locust

28. Awaken after slumber?
And clothe the horizons

29. When it awoke?
There, the shepherd of sheep

30. With a fiery heart
Grazes among the thickets

31. Roams every valley
His flute pours music

32. And scatters it in the meadows
Like sighs of longing

33. When parting comes
The bird forgot its worries when it sang

34. The care of contentment rarely settles
It grew used to the meadow, alone, and turned

35. From it to its branch, feeling like a stranger
Independent in its kingdom, no partner

36. Coveting, no watcher to beware of
Unbound, it would perch by a sapling

37. At times, or come down near a stream
And behold, a rose overflowing with beauty

38. Swaying with the playful breeze
Its thorns protect it, fanned out

39. Around it, guarding against any insolent or rude hand
Granting the eye, whenever it appears then hides

40. Every wondrous kind of allure
Every heart has its passion but

41. It knows not when its time will come
In the shadow of a lustrous eyelid

42. Its sorcery lies dormant, coiled snakes
Or behind a sweet dimpled smile

43. A cloying trap, its jaws agape
Or on the chest, spread out over

44. Two cushions, strong, its rule imposed
So if an impious gust from hell's fire

45. Dictates, its devil decrees
But if a fragrant breeze from the abode of purity blows

46. Its pillars stand firm, composed
Behold, let love, when it comes

47. Be free of any blemish in its place
The gaudy rose became an obsession for the nightingale,

48. A source of sorrow, its passion a torment
Woe to the warbler! Sorrow has become

49. What it suffers from the rose's coquetry
Lovesickness wasted it away and it is racked

50. By the love with an ailment that pains it
Who saw it compelled, swooping

51. Toward it, how she snubbed its wooing!
Who saw its soul pour out a burning

52. Song, the agony of sorrow stoking it
She is Eve, beware that garden

53. Lest you become Adam in it
Give not your noble heart to one so vile

54. To trample under her feet, discarding it
Does he see in the shade of her crimson rose

55. A secret which appeared though it was hidden?
Does he see the birds have hearts in it

56. Which spurned them, shriveled and withered?
Does he see today what it was that left

57. The meadow bleak, empty of birds?
How many omens appeared to his eyes until

58. The specter of ecstasy rose up before him?
His love made him wretched but

59. The blessing of love is to be wretched
Passion blinds the eyes and casts

60. In the mind's recess a ringing din
Thus the lover takes the path of fear as safety

61. And sees misguidance as guidance
Who do you think taught the coy one until

62. She allowed the bird to kiss her mouth?
He could not believe his eyes until she drew near

63. And prolonged her whispering in his ear
The meadow shook then with melodies so listen

64. To my story of the echo of her voice