1. She set out when the guide arose, made haste
Toward Wadi al-‘Uqayq from al-Himâ;

2. She traveled through Najd, and it turned brilliant,
Passed by Nu‘mân, who gained blessings galore.

3. She dragged her train o’er Al-Muhassab’s soil,
And that soil turned to scattered booty;

4. Merchants’ hands share it, bit by tiny bit,
Cameleers carry it off, time after time.

5. When she saw no darkness could conceal her
And her secret therein would not latent be,

6. She bared her radiant cheeks from veil’s confinement
And displayed a face that dazzles all who see.

7. So her unveiling was her beauty’s veil,
Like dawn’s sun that bedazzles every eye.

8. When we met after long estrangement,
Our bond nigh severed and torn apart,

9. She revealed her countenance’s folds, and there flashed
A gleam—but which of us felt greater joy?

10. She spoke, our talk turned intimate, things once
Hidden were freed: “I adjure you, let not passion

11. Sway you to make easy what is difficult
Or make venial what should meet doom.”

12. I kept her gift, not independent of her largesse,
But I deemed patience better and nobler.