1. I am still the first lover, infatuated,
smitten by the gazelle's eyes.

2. She captivated him with her allure,
leaving him in gentle torment.

3. What will save you from the wine-bearers,
if their wrists stab you with twigs?

4. They aimed their eyelids at you like swords
never sheathed in eyelids before.

5. Babylonian eyes have often
cast a clear spell on minds.

6. Be gentle to those you love, even if
their hearts are hardened against reunion.

7. Lighten up, for the passionate
still complain of the harshness of the gentle.

8. Woe to me from glances that fuel
fires with no trusted keeper of the flames.

9. Those fortunate in love are spared
my agony - is there any fortunate or helper?

10. The hearts of those I loved turned on me
and left me to the slashes of their eyes.

11. The ladies left as though they had drunk
poisoned nectar from the oleander.

12. Whenever I glance back at the abodes,
I glance back with yearning.

13. I paused at the dwellings long enough
to fulfil my debt of grief over the ruins.

14. My tears flowed during that pause,
and my sorrows passed by those abodes.

15. Every evening, the agony of loss
waters down whatever consolation comes my way.

16. My friend, the dear companions have fled,
wilderness drifting with the blowing wind.

17. Gladden your brother with kindness
if fellowship was once your creed.

18. Our dwellings were once abodes of youth,
lands of passion and infatuation.

19. Gentle breezes toyed in their patios,
stirring in me intense pining.

20. They gathered the passionate together -
the roe deer mingled with the lion in his den.

21. Those were days I threaded like red
garnets between roses and myrtles,

22. and gardens harmoniously adorned,
varied shapes and hues of blossoms,

23. pages embossed with delicate patterns
hinting at the subtlety of leaves.

24. Wine smiles in the palms of its pourers
like precious pearls with grinning surfaces.

25. For its drinkers they promise happiness -
great the collateral for what is assured!

26. A crescent moon cleaves the veil of dusk
from a night whose dawn is luminous.

27. Yet I waste away for one slender and fair -
oh, for that slight and stricken build!

28. I gave my soul for him and got nothing back,
returning from the deal stripped and destitute.

29. My stoic love taught me that withholding my soul
would not make me miserly in devotion.

30. I fought viciously with my days
until I bared for them the sword of faith.

31. I brandished it wrathfully on my right side
as my oath freely flowed from its scabbard.

32. When I sought refuge in my noble friend,
it was only in that honorable shelter.

33. My highest status was but a reflection of his -
I saw the stars beneath me eclipsed.

34. From him I won such fulfillment
that none could match in might and triumph.

35. And I turned away from people who
grab at the wealth of orphans and the poor,

36. who enjoy safety from ills
though they never grasp salvation,

37. who wear rags for clothes
and stillness for their grave composure.

38. The one for whom the Sublime Mother
was ennobled brought me glory.

39. Clinging forever to affection for him
by a bond from his towering ascent,

40. I swear - no, by God! - by the fig and olive
that, as long I as live, I shall not replace him!

41. Had it not been for him, I would not have left
the one I left, my companion and my solace.

42. And I would not have felt, in my passion for him,
that visiting was a duty and tradition.

43. On that day I spurred on my ride
that roamed the gentle slopes of Dawfad.

44. How many fair hands extended to me
the drafts no rainclouds could surpass!

45.
In his company, I saw in his manners

46. such artistry as creation’s design reveals.
How often his cheer dispelled the rust

47. from my sorrowful heart!
His abode is blessed with fortune,

48. eminence, and sublime nobility.
To the words from his mouth my hearing

49. was the shell guarding that hidden pearl.
I bloom just hearing his name evoked,

50. delighting the heart of every saddened soul.

51. Roused, I delight in talking of him;
when sick, he is the one who heals me,

52. with wit that relieves the heart and joy
that captivates the gaze of my eyes.

53. I unleash my praise, striving to match
the marvelous order of his attributes.

54. If they record his glory in verse,
praising the noblest theme for poetry.

55. So greet him, and may he always enjoy
a life of ease, well after well!