1. By Allah, O does of Rome, if I played
Among your cloaks, youthfulness revived,

2. Or flirted with the eyelids to rouse them,
And a mouth smiled, its pearls unveiled,

3. Or knitted my eyebrows into a bow, or
Morning shone and flashed on flowing water,

4. Kind to a lover since the days of my youth,
Whose heart held the embers of passion,

5. Sweet is joking, but the brow of morning
Among you frowned, pleasure's face sullen,

6. Often, every enchantress deceived me,
A houri whose glances hold magic,

7. The softness of her mouth in her charms
Awakens desire, anticipates a kiss,

8. Her saliva honeyed, her fragrance a balm,
That heals with wine every sorrow,

9. She longs for me as I long for her, and if
She walks, she says, may I see him, may I,

10. Veiled, unseen by the sun, appearing
Without appointment, fearing no guard,

11. With chastity and faith in her cloaks
And a moon whose radiance knows no stain.