1. Oh, would that when I drank
Pure water I hadn't praised it,

2. Or would that when I was delighted
By wine I hadn't sung!

3. Or would that when I arrived
At the spring I had left before it ran out,

4. Or would that when I was sated
I had left something to yearn for!

5. But oh, would that when the rose bloomed
I hadn't plucked it or harvested,

6. Or would that I hadn't moved
From branch to branch in the meadow!

7. For I have run with the youth
Tucking up my robe, driving me on,

8. And I have revealed secrets
To a reproacher and shut my ears.

9. If only when plunging into deep water
I had practiced restraint,

10. Never have I benefited from
My experience or my supposition

11. Until I awoke, struck by
Regret over my excess in my years.

12. But still I cannot resist
The sorcery of beauty, and it still lures me;

13. In its processions I have
Squandered gifts and lost myself.

14. How long have I remained hostage
To the charm of beauty, and it kept me hostage!

15. And I have reported of it
What people reported of me.

16. And I have filled my eyes with it until
My eyelids could no longer close,

17. And I have delighted in its
Meadows and shade, gardens of Eden.

18. A wondrous king whose
Sorcery captivates every soul!

19. And it makes me yearn to reveal
Myself despite my aloofness and avoidance.

20. It's as if when my longing provides
No relief for the fire in my chest,

21. The sweetness wounds me, and the
Grace, for all its tartness, consoles me,

22. And out of respect for its arrows
I removed my heart, though it pierced me.

23. Then I found my heart was a house of
Fire, my sanctuary and pillar!

24. So I made it my qibla,
And to its face I dedicated my art.