1. Whenever I came to Layla, she was veiled,
Her coldness in the morning distressed me,

2. I looked out over the sands, hoping,
To see the fire of Layla or her watcher might see me.

3. The dove in the valley sings softly,
May the rain from the clouds give you drink.

4. Show us, your feathers still soft,
You remain amid the green thickets chirping.

5. My soul conquers me, following its passion,
And my soul comes to me, warning of its passion.

6. A thing the soul hopes for is no misfortune,
Yet it fears the harm that might come to it.

7. And I have told my stubborn soul good advice,
The words of a caring one, if it would but hear.

8. I informed it that life and its people
Are like a loan to be returned by the borrower.

9. To its people, loaned things must be returned
With good grace by whom they were borrowed.

10. Stop, and ask the dove, o my friends,
To tell of its people, lest we startle it.

11. The dove in the valley sings softly,
May the rain from the clouds give you drink.