1. A radiant sun veiled by the crescent
Or is it the full moon unveiled in its brilliance?

2. Or the shining stars amid the darkness
Obscured on the celestial throne by the galaxy's veil

3. A witty, erudite companion from Arar who fulfilled his promise
Is it the morning breeze or musk from Dariin that excites?

4. A relaxed, gentle wrist or chains of captivity
Unadorned pearls or Yemeni anklets with holes

5. A meadow blanketed in flowers, illuminated
Where clouds gather and rain pours down

6. Or is it blossoms peeking through intimate gatherings
As trains of clouds draw the hems of gowns

7. Or is it the phantom of Asma, so beloved
Who came by night, while the abode drew near then receded

8. I recalled the parting of friends and a neighbor
Who kept their distance while ardour burned between them

9. I say having seen the grey in my hair
When we parted and tears flowed copiously

10. May God water the saplings of youth and passion
As the morning rain generously pours from the clouds

11. How many trysts I had with her at dawn
Our love talk smoother even than the wind

12. A gentle caressing like the meadow receiving rain
As it is caressed, verdant and grassy

13. With a turtledove's cooing towards her flock
Amid the bushes, chirping longingly

14. Her waist is slender and concave
While her hips are curvy and convex

15. I cannot forget as she swayed in brocade robes
Embroidered with gold and silver thread

16. Asking about a hidden meaning, her glances
Welcomed me with blowing kisses

17. It is a four-letter name; if you reverse it
And omit a letter as you rearrange

18. It's the name of a garden in Syria, like paradise
To which the heart aspires and longs

19. The first and last letters, if you note
Are used in grammar, smoothing speech

20. And the first letter made second
Is a bird known to frolic in meadows

21. Leave it unreversed, and for a time
It eludes the mind, fleeting and remote

22. Its second and next letters, as long as you
Play with them, amuse and entertain

23. And the third joined to the fourth
Reveal the face of my veiled beloved

24. What comes after is a vision that delights
A seeker, far beyond Suleima's pursuit

25. I saw it sparkling, overcome with longing
Battling my passion, though passion conquers me

26. So O eminent one whose poetry exalts the mind
Whose judgment in research is rightly guided

27. You surpassed the scholars of your time
Your ambition rising to the highest peak

28. Consider the luminous answer that reveals
A beloved's meaning and grammar intertwined

29. Take it as a meadow whose paths gave life
Its branches now petitioning leaves

30. You remain in safety, honour and nobility
Excelling in rhyme and paronomasia

31. As long as a turtledove sings on the high bough
And a planet circles the celestial dome