1. With the steadfastness of the gentle-natured camel
Whose bridle is pulled by the rider at its side

2. The supple-bodied camel danced joyously in the breeze
And the birds sang for him melodies of worship

3. And though I traverse the night like her poetry
To her, with slackened reins, I race

4. As if his body were carnelian and as though
His litter were made of aquamarine

5. As if the cheeks of maidens had adorned him
With beauty, variegated in every color

6. I imagined her with a dark-complexioned birthmark - if only
The stud camels had seen it, they would not yield

7. And a file-smoothed cane whose water mingled with fire
That neither extinguished nor sparked

8. His dwellings cast shadows and sunlight as though they
Had borrowed motifs from the relics of Mohammed