1. My heart is sick with love for you, nothing consoles it,
It finds no relief from the agony you put it through,

2. My eyes keep writing and my cheek is the paper,
My longing keeps piling up and knows no respite,

3. My loved ones grew aloof and I cannot find,
Among the nomads, anyone receptive and friendly,

4. If only Thabeer found some solace for my love,
Would that slake his raging, destroying thirst?

5. In my heart they took residence when they traveled on,
With them went my love and patience, all undone

6. When the swords, polished white, parted
The black eyelids in the terrible, fateful fight

7. What living heart survived that slaughter sound?
What blood not shed profusely on that ground?

8. They sanctioned my murder, caring not that it was wrong,
By God, shedding my blood can never be condoned!

9. My grief suffices that anguish lies dormant
In my heart while composure and vigor are spent,

10. My tormentors will not relent in their attacks
Though the soul is reached by even the feeblest cracks

11. Shall I pray that their abodes be rain-drenched while my tears
Can already fill a stream, tumultuous in full spate?

12. For love of them my feet walked straight
Never to stray from the destined fate

13. When they saw we had become souls
Bowed under misfortunes, death our ultimate goal

14. They let us drink deep of the narcissus of their cheeks
Though tears mixed with the wine that each sip seeks

15. To them I was noble but then was debased, humbled
For all who fall in love are fated to crumble

16. Hail to the flags of Nejd being hoisted, I say
And the Khaif valley and its towering palm array!

17. Reserved only for those to whom I was wed
The camel litters that other brides tread

18. A prince of Turks owns steeds that wreak fear
Yet by his side no dread can appear

19. He seduces, and for one whose beauty is unmatched
Why would one not be thoroughly snatched?

20. From his dark face shines a moon, luminance flows
While the shade his braids cast is jet black, pure darkness shows

21. Below his veil a new crescent moon peeks
At God’s sign, it shyly blinks

22. His arched eyebrows shoot arrows that pierce the hearts
Of his admirers who cannot help but be struck through by his darts

23. When he holds fast to the slim bow, it becomes a spear
Blazing with sparks in the midst of war’s fear

24. If he brandishes his sword it gains might
Vanquishing armies without losing the fight

25. In his quilted gown, a graceful gazelle is seen
While in battle raiment a formidable hunter turns mean

26. To me it matters not if he bears arms or no
For to see him carry weapons is the greatest of wows

27. His she-camels melted hearts away
The litter they bore sat high and proud in full display

28. Wading knee-deep in the watering pond
His robes get drenched in a shower, trailing along

29. Yet I view divorce as abhorrent, refused to be lost
For one so fair would never be at fault

30. He is the revered one but for fear of my God
Else in heresy I would have wrongly trod