1. He has turned grey but that's only to be expected
White has settled upon black thus confusing them

2. A hue I thought most detested by women
At the time of dyeing when the hair-dye is ready

3. Verily youth has departed and its goodness passed
So when will you say 'when' as its time returns?

4. After that and after what has vanished that which
Wrenches the heart to have vanished is gone

5. I shed tears so his friends blamed him
As he cried out to the distant hermit

6. Of the clan of 'Amrah, that loving wanderer
Whose tears flow when his loved ones are far

7. The day passes but their blame does not fade
Pouring steadily when blamed, his blaming ebbs

8. And God knows I left off disputing with them
Lest I should have for that an answer

9. Save for fear that I would quarrel with a companion
And know that quarreling is the cause of disputes

10. And the vile man sees spoils in his wealth
Reviling the generous when the generous answers him

11. So I was silent, withdrawing like the forbearing
For the forbearer's withdrawal saves him from villains

12. And I shed copious tears of a lovesick man
Whose heart was stirred and distraught with passion

13. They were determined to leave and made ready to depart
Like a mirage on a day, its image wavering

14. It runs over the barren plain as though
Its clouds had brought relief to the land

15. A day on which the fugitive remains
Hidden in the depths of a valley unseen through its haze

16. He is masked by the flames of fires as though
His garments were renewed with purest white

17. Every braggart is like a trunk stripped bare
By its carpenter though its panels remain

18. His tall frame belies his narrow ribs
The prominent part of his abdomen finely formed

19. Scowling when he tightens the bridle so that
His mouth gapes and his fangs are bared

20. Rough after its first opening by its opener
Like the bellows of a furnace unleashed by its tender

21. Until the departure was over and the dust rose
To the sky in clouds from their advancing company

22. I followed their tracks at the camping-places
Like a lover follows the beloved's tents

23. Wherever the caravan sets up or the place
Where the caravan's vestiges mark its return

24. Urging on his mount with the jingling of its tackle
As it frees itself screaming out loud

25. I went out wandering distraught amid companions
While the lamp flickered in the evening glow

26. Walking the walk of the amorous and graceful
As insects hummed at dusk amid the herbage

27. In the flowering plants, darkness had come over them
And no grasshoppers chirped in their meadows

28. Then he appeared and I had not intentionally frowned
At a cheek flexing over gum as perfect as pearls

29. Exhaling purer fragrance so it seemed as if
His breath had blood in it from a wound

30. Approaching on the twoLitayn camels, stately and handsome
A leg wrapped in garb that delights a gazer

31. Like a wild black antelope old and toothless
That mingles with young gazelles in its prime

32. He gave 'Amrah his glances that I could not
Reward for all there was no repaying

33. From her I saw multiplied charms
Upon her, not ceasing, however much she was shunned

34. And she smiled at me with the loveliest dimple
That shone white in the darkness like a fang

35. Like the circling pool of a granted gift
The tribe denied though the drawers came to it

36. Woven for her by youth in a carpeted litter
That removes hearts' grief when mounted by its rider

37. They climbed the mound of cheeks as though ascending
The curved neck of the oryx with straight-ridged sides

38. Chaste wild cattle whose home it inhabited
Where its herds pastured, its meadows green

39. So I followed them with intent that deviated with them
Like palms inclining to the side with heavy clusters

40. And I scanned the knotted camel-leads above
Saddles enveloped in saddle-cloths

41. Behind them the milch-camels' udders swollen
Bulging with milk stored in them since they last suckled

42. I followed them and excellent is a single companion
In the wilderness who precedes his companions

43. Until the darkness mingled and they approached
A plain, easy for the descending celestial bodies

44. They halted there as pilgrims halt at Mina
Crowded together by the stone idols