1. My heart craves nothing but intimacy and discretion,
And distracts me nothing but a glance and a tryst.

2. O travelers, while my heart pines for their encampments,
Why this departure when my fate is undecided?

3. Return my heart to me, for I am a man—
If my heart is gone, I have no patience.

4. Do not let the slanderer incline you, for you both
Are lightning that flashes but brings no rain.

5. You are not angry, nor have we erred to anger you,
And you shun us though we've caused no offense.

6. When we fall ill, we come to nurse you back to health,
Yet you do wrong, and we return to apologize.

7. How leisurely your life, while mine is all turmoil!
You slumber, while my sleep is filled with vigilance.

8. I've not forgotten our old bonds,
Nor solicited others, nor changed despite time's passage.

9. I do not listen to critics, however they denounce me,
Or to those who whisper, be they many or few.

10. My character is open and straightforward. Indeed,
It confounds the judicious and the rash alike.

11. I am the paramour of the tribe, for no poet is more refined,
Nor elegance more absent than in unrefined verse.

12. I reward the generous for their kindness with praise
That makes past and future fall short.

13. I do not deny the kindness of a generous brother—
Never! Nothing hides what cannot be hidden.

14. O rider of the swift steed, slow your pace a little!
The night storm rages as it spills over.