1. O doves of Shiraz, be gentle with us,
Your cooing laments what ails us,

2. And reminds us today of what we had forgotten -
That the whims of passion make us oblivious.

3. Whenever misfortune befell us,
Your lament awakened us,

4. Why, while your mates are near,
Do you linger in the cool shade,

5. Flirting with tender blossoms
And swaying boughs?

6. We lament in longing, while your song
Is joyous - how different our states!

7. Those who weep when loved ones are far
Are unlike those weeping as loved ones draw near.

8. May God render futile our claims of love,
And make our tongues liars,

9. And multiply our sleepless nights with loved ones,
And keep our eyes sleepless.

10. Ask the dwellers of the valley,
If they have attained our desire;

11. For we are poisoned by the water of disdain,
While they savor the wine of affection.

12. He who scorns to cure his malady through you
Will suffer it chronically, until he finds relief

13. And regains his health and calm;
I wonder at you - how the nights refuse

14. To show kindness and treat us well!
You spend the darkest hours in tranquility,

15. While we stay wakeful, nursing our vengeance.
Who suffers more - the oppressor or the oppressed?

16. My friends! Do you know how we feel here,
While you are there? I swear by all the paths of separation

17. That you who left us are dearest to us,
The people of the hill of parting -

18. Our first request, our final wish!
My friend, perhaps what one intends

19. Gets deferred by destiny;
I asked you - why not visit their tents,

20. And say to their dwellers, have you kept safe
Those promises, or has our separation shattered them?

21. Many have permitted us the sweetest union,
Yet we saw no beauty in it;

22. They seek to divert us from thoughts of you,
Though had they left us be, we would not have wavered,

23. So do not blame us if we depart
When the caravan leaves you;

24. Though the lover is inclined to renounce
The one he loves, and abandon us.

25. If you see me morose at times,
And at others, tranquil;

26. I move from one encampment to another,
Exchanging an intimacy for an intimacy,

27. Only to settle near you,
And reside close to you.