1. Laila imagined the gazelles and their young,
The fleet mountain goats and the deer.

2. They went out in the evening, so I said, “Borrow
The sandy hills and their rises.”

3. And they led me at night, so we were left with
The paired stars and their solitude.

4. New moons that renewed after love
Prolonged my debts and my promises.

5. They denied the new love after they
Knew passionate love and its ways.

6. And I was a man who always followed
Union with the loves and their abandonment.

7. I love in every situation
Laila’s wrong and her kindness.

8. I see you, though you are darkness
The sincerity of my soul and its loyalty.

9. And I like in you that I unleash
The passions of my soul and its sorrows.

10. And it did not please me that my heart was lent
Consolation for hearts and their comfort.

11. Lightning flashed in a rain-cloud
Stretching its forks to the ground.

12. So do not ask about the equinox now that
The sun has reached its balance.

13. A youthful playfulness I encountered
So I went along with the wind and its breezes.

14. And no comfort until you see
The niceties of evenings and their joy.

15. And it is no wine if you do not
Continue drinking and its addiction.

16. And how many meadows in the island
The Tigris smiles at their thickets!

17. It shows you scattered gems
As the light crowns its heights.

18. Wonders that seize the glance of eyes
When the sun uncovers its colors.

19. When the birds sing in it, the songs
Incline their melodies to you.

20. The buildings walk their ease
As the palace interrupts their right.

21. And the Tigris carries the burden of passion
Until it knocks against its pillars.

22. As if the maidens walked in it
When the wind shook their scarves.

23. Its trees embrace each other
In the embrace of lovers and their homes.

24. Sometimes the morning straightens them
And sometimes it tilts their branches.

25. Swaying boats that move their planks
As the horses pulled their reins.

26. Encampments of my generous, enamored brother
To join the time its coverings.

27. Thousands of homes, so if he gathered
He would not abandon its pegs.

28. When he decided, his resolve was not shaken
By the spans he was used to in his homes.

29. One who looks upon the unknowns of matters,
A master to the masters and their peers.

30. The loyalties prepare their help for him
And misfortunes befall his enemies.

31. And they are careful around him out of affection
As the eye protected its pupil.

32. The honest one, his way showed
The right course and its proof.

33. He assumed responsibility so he did not waste
The trust in it, nor did he betray it.

34. He stays overnight in moral restraint
As the eyelids envelop their eyes.

35. When chances for glory came to him
He seized them with wisdom and its possibilities.

36. And I said to one with resolve, do not seek
Its heights so you can reach its summit.

37. And leave the mountains, for you cannot sanctify
What you cannot bear or climb its slopes.

38. Inheritances from honor that did not diminish
Its structure or overthrow its status.

39. When the people claimed its names
We found him possessing its nobles.

40. Your good qualities will exclude
The praises you paid for in advance.

41. For prosperity, you made it easy to put to work
Its naked ones and for horses its horsemen.

42. Oh, I wish I knew! Did they rest
In Balikh’s palaces and its bowers?

43. And did they see someone in need
The mosques of Zakko and its monks?

44. And were they aware of the two soft ones
A miser, charming and quick to help?

45. A longing one recalled his friends
And a soul sought its homelands.