1. My friend, pass by the abodes of Salma
And see what time has done to the dwellings of Salma

2. Convey my greetings to the beloved land of Najd
For those are the dwelling places of loved ones of old

3. Kept alive by lasting rain and cloud bursts
That have not erased their traces and features

4. Oh how delightful are the breezes of Najd
And the flowers of the meadows like embroidered brocade

5. I wish I were the dust of Mount Turbah’s peak
That kisses the wide desert plain

6. When youth was our intercessor
And my hair was deep black like pitch

7. While the fair ones’ beauty shone like necklaces
Of pearls and their bodies smoother than silk

8. For us they shook the myrtle’s branches
Swaying heavily over the sand dunes’ peaks

9. With frowning eyebrows, severely guarding
Their glances - how many arrows they unleashed!

10. When will tears rain from the doe’s eyes
As they resent the pearls threaded in a necklace?

11. In their softness is musk’s diffusion
And in their saliva, wine’s exquisite taste

12. If I attempt patience, my heart protests
And says “No, never, not at all!”