1. Had I not been shy of narcissus eyes
I would have kissed rose cheeks amidst lilies

2. And sipped from the mouth of a peach, her saliva
And embraced the branches of the supple myrtle

3. And uncovered the veils of dignity, without caring
Lest a chaste one look askance with a wanton eye

4. Why should I, in the thickets of teeth, be hiding
The harmony of the lutes, revealing the face of the bashful?

5. Great is the difference between pretenders and lovers sincere
The garb of the pilgrim and the pure and the impure

6. And the skull-cap and the turban and the becowled
And the birds—how fluent when blessed with intimacy!

7. I have protected my hearing from the inanity of his talk
And ignored his rough, raucous tone

8. Once I deemed lovers fools, but if I myself
Am he who abandons the eloquent for a mute

9. My passion, do not pitch your tent, but move on
And accept my advice of good sense—sit down!

10. Do trees and birds and flowers see
Those who bow their heads in worship?

11. By God—and He suffices me—a binding oath
His goodness is ransomed by lives

12. It is not drunkenness or frivolity
But prostration in praise and sanctity

13. Thanks to Him who originated existence through His munificence
So all creatures inclined to Him, even the penurious

14. He raised the sky as a roof cooling to behold
And spread out the earth’s expanse, a ample sitting-place

15. And adorned it with all kinds of beauties
And illuminated it with radiant planets

16. And made His bounty last through successors
And granted distinction to those who obey and rebel

17. Until existence was composed in harmony
And He clothed it in His light and silk brocade

18. And all souls perfected their perfection
So He coupled His supreme boon with gifts

19. By the most noble guide to creatures, the rightly-guided
And most perfect light for creatures, the illuminator

20. The Elect One who was a mercy sent to us,
The goal of hope, the handhold of the despairing

21. Abundant blessings whose description words fail
So the orator halts, his tongue tied by them

22. Come, speak to me of their love—how far
Is patience from the heart of the passionate!

23. If I have succeeded in describing their beauty
Still forgetfulness has clouded me, and I forget

24. No sooner does the nightingale call you a nightingale
Than you warble the lays of these precious souls

25. Glory to Him whom all creatures praise
In speech or silently, willingly or under duress!

26. And the ruins bow down to Him in prostration
With their mountains, rising or bowed

27. So when the birds depart their branches
The obedient from the rebellious become manifest

28. One will say, ‘I was intoxicated by a singer's melody’
And another, ‘I prostrated myself at the mention of the All-holy.’

29. Each speaks according to his perspective, but the truth
Does not escape the sight of the wise man of sound judgment