1. When will the sand dunes reveal to us their gazelle
And bring closer to our reach its bounty

2. How can we attain one we do not encounter
Though the dew promised nothing but its meeting

3. He intended to visit me mistakenly, so when
I extended my palm to attain it, it appeared to him

4. And when his eyes spurned me by day
I was content to see his shadow by night

5. I resisted his prohibitions, so my eye attained
His blessings, while my heart found him pure in the darkness

6. My teary eyes made me think I saw him
Yet in tears I saw nothing but his likeness

7. I missed his honesty, so perforce I was satisfied
To meet his phantom on a hopeless quest

8. And a saying visited me, so I wished
I had protected my mind from its speaker

9. It reminded me of gatherings, songstresses,
Days of youth and joblessness

10. How can I blame one whose love made me lose
A lifetime, and revealed to me its crescent

11. When I thirsted, its sweetness quenched me
And its fresh water slaked me

12. My heart was averse to him out of caution
So he had me bound in his fetters

13. I forgave him the sins of time when
He came to my hand and clung to its union

14. I am no chosen one, just a friend
Who was content with his trials and defects

15. I left some belongings near the valley
And did not turn to them, enjoying their loss

16. You are of people we have not seen
Anything but leadership and glory from them

17. They climbed the peaks of weighty speech among us
And settled them however they wished

18. How one longed to catch up with them
On the routes of great deeds, but did not attain it

19. They did not cease to be one day a torrent of bounty
For pride, and one day swords for combat

20. How many eloquent ones you turned back
Ignorant, unable to express themselves

21. And how many debaters you returned muted
Reversing their arguments

22. So take it today, a poetry of distraction
With which to roam the lands, lost without losing your way

23. For if it falls short, its subtle hints
Have spared you prolongation

24. My heart will never tire of you in time
Far be it from tiring of you!