1. Welcome to Rayya, whose bosom contains delight!
Though the winds may toss me violently in her passion

2. A damsel who in the position of beauty has an aspect
Beside which both highland and lowland are insignificant

3. Her waist-wrapper encompassed a sand-hill
And her plaits encircled a watercourse

4. So in the branch if she bent there were resemblances
And in the full moon if she uncovered her face there were features

5. The beauties of secluded ladies are many
But if they were weighed against her, they would be defects

6. It seemed that the shaking of the earring in her smooth cheek
Was a star rising at dawn, shining

7. She has an image to me and an apparition, both
Passing by me with her likeness

8. I was astonished that my eye thirsted for her
While her person was in the depths of the water, swimming

9. I yearn for her with passion, and before her dwelling
Are pathways which misguidance and calamities frequent

10. A wasteland where the star goes astray in its undulating terrain
And in it prey wanders distractedly

11. And the turbulence of a sea wherein whenever the wind
Blows violently its waves clash

12. So my heart beneath my ribs burns like fire
And my tear upon my cheek flows like water

13. If I were freed, neither the waterless wastes nor the oceans
With the floods would deter my passion and desire

14. But I am in shackles, beyond which there is
No relief for one excused, nor departing early for one blamed

15. My passion battles me when the night maddens me
And I rise up against the enemies, so I battle

16. Two opponents, one established in my innermost being
The other keeping away from the range of missiles

17. I have no fear of the onslaught of enemies
If passion would only lend a hand or make peace

18. So O garden of the standard, greeting to you, a carrier pigeon
Flapping its wings in joy, alluring, from the eyrie,

19. Laughing, the folds of lightning - its eyes
Flow with a sweet rain blessing the meadows and canals!

20. The morning breeze weaves for it with strands of dew
Raiment wherein young female ostriches strut

21. The abodes where the cycle of time halted - my emblems
Frolicked there, and pure wine-jars greeted me there

22. The land most deserving of thanks is a lodging
Wherein a man has a sincere adviser for a comrade

23. Will the days return therein with what has passed
And will there be intimacy with Umaymah again renewing our pact

24. By my life, hopes have grown long and its ambitions
Have been tossed about, short of the meeting place

25. And I have awakened in a land that confuses the guide
And terrifies the demons, and they are distracted

26. Its regions are distant from the lands of pasturage; if only
A horseman travelling had accomplished his purpose and departed satisfied!

27. In it echoes cry like bereaved women
Whose weeping the misfortunes roused

28. Its mountains were clad in the armour of clouds
And its torrents were stirred into fury by the floodwaters

29. Its caves are fortresses for destructive women
And its deep valleys are a playground for women seeking diversion

30. Death-places where a man forgets his companion
And whoever contends for elevation holds back

31. Only a hot wind and a cool one blow
And only a rugged and smooth earth exist

32. We lie in wait for a raid like lions
With a sudden attack at dawn gleaming

33. Our weapons are trained on the enemies, and our swords
Are keen blades, followed by the well-fitting scabbards

34. Three types whom the warriors' assault protects:
The enemies' horses if the war-cry comes from one provoking strife

35. You see only bodies in coats of mail
And troops plunging into death distractedly

36. We attack the champions when dawn is smiling
And we retreat to the thickets when night falls

37. My companion wept when he saw war arrive
With its children, while the day was dusty, turbid

38. His weeping was not from fear, but rather
He imagined I was confused in the fray

39. So he said: collect yourself before the assault and do not
Make war upon yourself - I sincerely advise you

40. Have you not seen the smoke gathered as if
Dishevelled tresses were upon the neck of Virgo?

41. And for war an ominous sphere like a citadel has risen
With a beginning in death, hasty

42. So I have no view other than you should survive
For you are clearly the object of high standing

43. I said: you must learn it is only a strategy
By which glory becomes long, though disgraces are feared

44. Not everything you hope for in the matter will happen
Nor everything you fear of calamity occur

45. For the mighty may perish in the depths of his house
And the slight one rubbing his elbows may escape from death

46. And every man one day meets his appointed time
Even if he is disgraced while in his prime

47. None depart early but those reconciled to good
None are intimate but those reconciled to evil, later leaving

48. So if I live, I will enjoy intimacy and if I die
It will be noble, enclosed in the earth