1. He saw blame from all sides, so it alarmed him,
So do not deny his indifference and refusal,

2. And do not ask me about my heart, for I
Have realized with certainty that he has lost it,

3. May Allah protect him, so gentle in his manner,
Would that I had something to dispel his anxiety,

4. And certainly if he had, from the start of love,
Obeyed my madness, we would have limited our conflict,

5. For we only wished him ill out of his tongue’s doings,
And nothing ruined the world but what he spread,

6. He spread what incited against us the old age of separation,
And a bird flew off with the veil of pretense from his face,

7. And he woke up among those he loved with a locked heart,
Concealing for fear of the envious his torrent within,

8. And he forbade me on the day we parted from living in his land,
And deprived me of bidding him farewell,

9. I was happy for an instant, as I walked away,
Glancing back hoping he would call me back,

10. I roamed the horizons far and wide because of him,
And endured the galloping pace of a racing camel,

11. Until no land remained whose expanse I did not traverse,
No sea remained whose waves I did not sail,

12. As if I were a conscience, residing in the heart of my beloved,
Feeling him and revealing his innermost thoughts,

13. My friends deserted me from the abode of passion,
When separation moved in with its goods and took up residence,

14. With your life, you turned against the one who lost me,
And greeted him while shunning my square,

15. And say: "So-and-so, we miss your jokes,"
"And nothing was sweeter than your poetry and creativity,"

16. A lad who once stood steadfast around you,
If only you had sought goodness when he drifted away,

17. The enemies listened in, but even if the enemies,
Whenever they found a tear, loved to widen it,

18. So I was like a slave, the man and his stick,
Who picks fruit without sin yet sells him,

19. For every passion there is a slanderer, so if passion
Is shaken, do not blame the slanderer or the one who obeyed,

20. If you water your loved one with honey
Let those with a grudge sell their empty bubbles,

21. And say: "We saw the one whose parting we praised,
And we did not see anyone whose company we did not criticize,"

22. "And where is the one who was sharp as a sword in edge and essence,
For anyone who sought to touch his harm or gain his benefit?"

23. You two were but a paper and a writer,
So dictate and cast the paper to the dust,

24. If the angry one falls silent or draws lines in the sand,
Then say: He has cast his hearing aside to you,

25. Perhaps the longing one will remember on a piece of paper,
So hopes are enough if you just envision me as scribbles,

26. A book was closer to me than seeing him,
When the abandoned one held it, it calmed his agony,

27. For God’s sake, refrain, for he continues, and he
Is sensitive, I fear his mind will shatter,

28. And beware disobeying his passion if it hardens,
For none who loved refused to follow it,

29. For God’s sake, stop discussing me, for
I am weary, and I fear it will stir up a headache in him,

30. And do not bring up my memory when he is alive,
For I do not want my beloved to suffer pain,

31. If he complains of me, be quick to say:
“Yes, we complain to you of obeying him,”

32. If you look upon the face that witnessed the horizons,
Abandon following me, take omens, and follow him,

33. If he tries to criticize me, make up faults about me,
And criticize me eloquently in ways you invent,

34. Do not fear sin, for I permit you,
If it comes from one whose love he enjoys hearing,

35. Incline toward one who, if he were a slanderer,
Would leave him to his own devices and inventions,

36. And cheer my spy with sleep, for long
Have I left him lying awake on fiery coal,

37. Do not envy the affection of a two-day lad,
For you know, my beloved is prone to deception,

38. Seek the rules of passion, for it has decreed
That its rays be disgraced by its predators,

39. The weak of passion are those who spend the night complaining of fate,
But weaker than them is he who hopes for its reformation,

40. If the longing one knew my state after our union,
He would prefer separation between lovers,

41. He who seeks loved ones eagerly to endure,
Does not intend through people but to lose himself,

42. Every joining of love contains a rift,
And the intoxicated earns nothing but a headache,