1. When tears overflowed from the corner of my eye
And when it bled, emptying out,

2. It was as though the flash of my smile was creating
A pouring cloud over my eyelashes that sobbed and complained

3. O you whose glowing cheek is illuminated, pass along
The cup, a cheek from you has shone

4. I did not know whether its hue
Was from me or from the blood of lovers it was dyed

5. And the one who did not let his love poem roam freely
I lulled his she-camel with my crooning, so it grumbled

6. Love poetry led me, and what a wonder!
For a love poem led a fierce lion and it roared

7. And tongue-tied from shyness
It was as though its mouth was stitched closed

8. If the filled gaze appeared, you'd think it
A blinking eye, kohl-lined and fast asleep

9. Or a muscle in the temple twitching, a punishment
For I cursed, so its branch stung me

10. O tongue-tied from the intention
You made me silent, though you are the most eloquent

11. You left me grasping with outstretched hand
Like a sword, its scabbard empty, unsheathed

12. While the love poem, about the one I love
Is settled in a meadow, empty

13. I reproached him and he reproached me
Until with the outpouring of his tears, he gurgled

14. It would not hurt us if beauty was daubed on us
If only with his beauty he would daub!

15. Convey her desire to the exalted ones
Convey to the Most High your ascent, as high as it ascended

16. We were once the best vessels
So who corrupted our vessels and emptied them?

17. It was as though, apart from all people,
There was a jinn between me and you that provoked

18. I want satisfaction with anger for a while
For I see him responding to me with aggression

19. The sword will only be fixed by its polishing
If its essence trembles and pours out

20. I will establish in it a nature my fingers have fashioned
And the skin improves each time it is tanned