1. Lord of a night that seems, after rebellion's trail,
Far-reaching in pursuit, not soon to fail,

2. Flowers appeared in it like a flower
That glitters through the mist of pouring hail,

3. Or like the blue of lances in the plain appearing
As whiteness of the tents in pasture stale,

4. And Pleiades like links in coat of mail,
Or scorpion, barely creeping, slow in tail,

5. And Gemini, whose cloak seemed to unveil,
Pearled fabric, or pearls in patterned veil,

6. Or like a swimmer, sailing down a flood,
Or crucified, high on a rugged pale.

7. Mars seemed a glowing ember fanned to flame,
As, when it rose, its glimmering burst out like a blaze,

8. And Suhayl's heart, when startled by her aim,
The watchman's eye, was filled with fear's amaze.

9. The new moon, when it shone, seemed to reclaim
A segment of the collar's golden glaze,

10. Or like a bow whose ends approached to frame
A nun written on parchment in those days.

11. The stars, when dawn drew near, still palely gleamed,
Like lids of one whose sleep is filled with care,

12. Turned to the sky, nor from their waking dreamed
Of closing eyes that rested from their stare.

13. Blossoms they seemed, from days before Islam,
In poet's necklace, as the learned wear.