1. He knelt before her as tears filled his eyes,
And reproached her, saying:

2. "Oh heart, is this love - if it started like this,
Have you not seen? So guide me, how will it end?"

3. I had promised you my heart, a king none could possess,
Nor could armies reach, even one day.

4. Give it to Habib al-Qimr or Qayrawan and his father,
For the hosts of Taiman are victorious in fright.

5. So she bowed her head in shame at his reproach,
And tears of regret flowed, uncontrollably.

6. She accepted the head of repentant Taiman
For her sin, and her loving heart forgave her.

7. As if her mouth, in the poetry of her lover,
Was wine intoxicating her, musk intoxicating him.

8. Taiman says: "What could I have done?
Can the decree of God be resisted by the cautious?

9. For you I have love, and my heart is its keeper,
And for my country I have love, and my heart its supporter.

10. If I have no homeland in love for you and for them,
Then what bosom of love shelters its birds?"