1. The affection of the enchantresses calls me, calls me,
Yet I cannot restrain my hands from them.

2. She appeared one day of bliss, and beneath her veil
Were the darkness of night and the dawn together.

3. She shot me with an arrow from her cruel eyelids.
I ransom the hand of the archer the next morning she shot me.

4. On her cheek was a rose I intended to pluck,
But the sword of her glancing eyes protected me.

5. My friends say, why are your tears pouring down?
I said, parting from loved ones wounds me.

6. If only the nights of al-Ghor were a paradise and would return,
And if only I could see Layla and she could see me,

7. And if only my tents were around the area of its people,
And if only the daughter of al-Bakri were in my captivity.

8. For loved ones may come closer after distance,
Just as loved ones may distance after coming close.

9. Reproacher, do not reproach me much, for it was not
Passion that destroyed you when it destroyed me.

10. My stay in al-Ghor has indeed been long,
And I was a confidante of disappointment and dejection.

11. In the East and the West, every ode of mine
Is like a unique necklace or ripe fruits.

12. And since I have never sought the gift of a miser,
And since I have never stayed in an abode of disgrace.

13. The generosity of Muhammad al-Shawari sufficed me,
A generous one whom God sufficed when he sufficed me.

14. I visit the son of Abdullah from the furthest distance,
So I meet bare ground above all bare ground,

15. And a white one from Hamdan who is feared and hoped for
On a day of food or on a day of hunger.

16. O Abu Sa'd, you are the best of Hamdan indeed,
A head, even if it landed in every place.

17. You supported Ali on the day of Siffin with spears,
So he praised you while the spears were bent.

18. No neighbor stayed with you while humiliated,
No guest stayed with you while disgraced.