1. And by the right of love, I have not betrayed its covenant
Though I am allured by my heart and its fervor

2. Behind the cheeks, the tender spot that cools the ardors
And extinguishes from the embers of passion its fuel

3. I yearned for the bright water, visiting its shore
As the tent-pole complained of the long night and its burden

4. Yet you did not consider me while the tents were as though
They were draped over gazelles, subdued, and lions, conquered

5. More patient than my heart with the patience of loss
And more generous than me with the absence of a beloved

6. Who was infatuated with the sender of his cheek
On a cheek like the full moon on its blessed night

7. When she saw that there was no scorpion in Homs
To rival it, she hid the scorpion of her cheek

8. And said to her cupbearer, "Pass around her sweet nectar"
While hands expertly prepared the beverages at their station

9. Did you bare the cup, its rim radiant?
Or did necklace beads sprinkle into it?