1. The lightning spoke truly of Saadi, not lying,
And the tears explain what he dictated in his writings.

2. One who objects presumptuously about the likes of his smile,
Would act oppressively out of envy and spite.

3. A sword of love whose thrusts cannot be faulted,
Against a patient fighter they retreated and fled.

4. If its gleam stole through the darkness of night,
It would turn the horizons' darkness to vivid red.

5. An insomniac whom sleep has abandoned,
And a generous man does not reject a request.

6. My eyes deceive me, then rapidly yearn,
Until the hidden longing of love stirs and wakes.

7. A fire, when the morning breeze stokes it at night,
Turns the embers to pure gold and makes its flames shine bright.

8. Oh absent ones, though glory is lost without you,
Never would my eyes or heart replace you.

9. If I owned what I most deserve to possess,
I would comfort a heart that has long been in distress.

10. I weep for the past, and what its ruins contain,
With branches and thickets reproaching me again.

11. A house - if I poured out love and it still felt desolation,
I would shed tears of blood in its courtyard pavilion.

12. To long for it is sweet, though impossible to attain,
That one who longs should achieve all that they hoped to gain.

13. One night the full moon, our cupbearer, gave us wine,
Circling in a sky filled with stars that brightly shine.

14. At dawn, it dispensed drinks that vigorous and bright,
Although in the cups there was just reflected light.

15. Red from shyness, until when blended,
We couldn't tell if from modesty or anger it was tinted.

16. With cold water it increases its smoldering fervor,
Never have I heard tell of speaking water set aflame.

17. With it, the daughter of generosity was honored,
What a love it is, surrounding all with its flair!

18. It adorns the companions when they taste it,
As if sunlight itself were mixed in their share.

19. Oh you who stay awake when the night's hours fade,
And come to sweet waters where purity's displayed.

20. You attained by nightfall what I hope for tomorrow,
On ships that reached Aleppo from stretch of desert sorrow.

21. Vessels we thought from the dark night's confusion,
Were clouds, with no clear shape or scale to measure.

22. I continued aspiring toward it, decided and bold,
Until I reached the full moon and clouds as I was told.

23. I promised its figure, slender from aging,
Yet today it struts in my love with youthful engaging.

24. If only lightning would glance her way and desire,
Or the stars gaze toward her, they'd erupt into fire.

25. I fear yet hope she'll act kindly despite past disdain,
Her image promises better though she caused me pain.

26. She frowned her eyebrows then blinked her eyelashes,
So describe in verse the bow and arrow that flashes.

27. It wasn't right for a suitor to request her hand,
Whether a brave hero or envoy made to stand.

28. I melt with jealousy when her tresses blow freely,
Playing sometimes, unleashed by her untamed beauty.

29. Never have I said to love and its excess:
Gently, give me relief, grant my distress recess.

30. My greatest worry is one who pretends to advise,
But hears me narrowly and amplifies vice.

31. A judge rules to ridicule my falling tears,
Though they made her witness, claiming impartial ears.

32. I trusted her eyes, though they betrayed my reserve,
So trust no more in gazes however they swerve.

33. I love her frugality, to keep her beauty intact,
No other's hand has gained when avarice holds them back.

34. May Allah water the meadows of every ruined abode,
With heavy cloudbursts, not mere showers that glowed.

35. If you do not find, oh Saadi, good fortune or luck,
Still no land rains, or sprouts greenery unstuck.