1. Enough of blaming love for my decline,
Even as blame itself brings some relief.

2. I have drunk deep of passion till I drowned,
So bitter was that draught I forgot all sweetness.

3. I was no wanton, yet passion when it strikes
The sober man makes him act wildly.

4. I complain to God of a glance that went
Beyond all modest bounds, till it cast me down.

5. Blameless, it shot me through the heart, and still
Brings only what my fate had decreed.

6. I deserted kith and kin, shunned old friends
And in my madness angrily rebuffed would-be comforters,

7. Till I became like one who had drunk a draft
That stole his wits and left his reason behind.

8. Thoughtless I wander not knowing where I go;
My right hand has less truth in its lines than my left.

9. Love's captive, I no longer recall the days
Or recognize faces save those showing disdain.

10. So, eyes that down your cheeks rain tears,
Let up awhile from watering barren sands.

11. 'Twas you that led my heart to taste of love,
Till not a drop of patience now remains.

12. Obedient to you, after long restraint,
I let resolve be broken past repair.

13. So if after this bout I make peace with passion,
I am no true son of glory if I relapse.

14. They blame my ecstasies, as if I had initiated them.
Would they but blame the gazelles, those wild deer!

15. I am charged with no crime before them save that
I let slip the bird of song; and taught a dove to sing.

16. Can a man hide passion when he is a poet
And even as he walks, his meters whisper within?

17. So gentle dawn-winds why do you always revive,
When you blow, the smoldering fires in my heart?

18. And you, O mourning dove, tread gently o'er my heart.
And O lightnings of the dark! Inform whomever I love

19. To drink his fill, yet keep his distance from me.
And you, dews of the vine, if you are indeed inclined

20. To be as lovesick as I am, you will find a cure.
Old passion all my present torments has begot.

21. And sent my spirit wandering finding no rest.
No! I left not my tribe, nor have I parted

22. From friends, but longing returns again and again.
Times have changed. Remembrance visits me no more

23. With kindness, bringing traits to gentle my despair.
So Miqyas garden may your stream give ease -

24. Its chains invite those longing for the waterside.
Still does the morning breeze kiss you and stir

25. The sleeping light, till full awake the east turns golden.
Land in whose peace and plenty I've found delight

26. And let caprice hold the reins to roam it wide.
Sweet the ways I knew there, friends and fortune shared;

27. Goodly the customs I abandoned heedlessly.
There lies the homeland where the soul finds comfort,

28. Which, though far away, is nearest to the soul.
How excellent this world when we depart

29. And even when we come, how excellent the welcome!
I craved reunion but was first among a band

30. Of comrades seeking eminence through high endeavor;
Should they gain a portion I expect no less,

31. For renouncing some ambitions brings relief.
What use that virtues I possess are gifts

32. My enemy with equal gifts is graced.
The green herb grows not from the dust if drought persists,

33. Nor will the rain replenish streams if none should seek the clouds.