1. I have been denied all companions,
Even denied the companions of dreams;

2. So I do not see myself tasting
Or inclined toward food in sleep.

3. Except I see, from misery, as if I
Am bent and restrained, held back from it by a bridle,

4. And I see the beloved, when his image appears,
And the object of my kiss is the dearest object,

5. Except for quarreling that drags away intimacy
And kindles in the bowels any inflammation,

6. So I rouse myself―ablution is a duty―and I have not attained
From the one I love anything but ardour and sickness,

7. Absence drove him away from me, and my need pleaded,
And sentenced me to pay for the bathhouse.

8. Glory to a Lord who continues to allow him
To increase me in passion and infatuation.