1. I will persist though the rope of your love frays me;
And if fraying me is frightening, I will adorn it beautifully.

2. And I will distract my soul from you as one who
Yearns for his distant, far-off homeland.

3. If sorrow for you comes over me,
And if my body is bent by separation,

4. I will revisit, O Lubna, our finest days -
By Dhi al-Talh - or do they have no return?

5. The ruins of the abode where you dwelt
Drank life, then became overgrown in summer and spring.

6. They say passion is charged to women,
Though that is no remarkable act of men.

7. An age has passed, and people seek intercession from me,
So do I have an intercessor with Lubna tomorrow morn?

8. O saddle mounts of al-Hayy, where you endured
With Dhi Salam, nor did spring gratify you,

9. And your tents at Liwa’s crest,
Which the breezes did not make supple -

10. To God I complain of a purpose that split the staff
Which today was refractory, and yesterday compliant.

11. And after days beyond count had passed me by,
My heart scarcely calmed from the draughts of your breast.

12. For the spilling of tears from my eyes whenever
I remember you, and me alone, is quick.

13. Had the slanderers not roused me, a flock of doves
Among the dwellings would have roused me.

14. They communed and wept, those who were love-possessed,
With unchecked tears flowing from them.