1. Asma has cast anew the ropes of her tent
And there may yet be communion and brotherhood

2. She changed after we left, or was changed
And mischief-makers set enmity between us

3. So I broke with her after intimate love
And love which soaks your heart is sickness

4. And for every bygone epoch and trust
Among the people there are keepers from God

5. A soft, pampered cheek whose life
Gives joy to your eye and radiance

6. As though on the day of departure, now
Her fingers showed hennaed by the dye

7. A cool robe in the night, its roots
Fed by shade when the day departs and water

8. Or the egg of the sandgrouse whose insignia
Are the ostrich plumes, all fluff and feathers