1. The lover's words are excused for their excess
And the secret is mixed with the overt

2. I sold the land of Iraq in haste
So my confusions overwhelmed my heart

3. With one who won't cease asking of my news
Listen! Nothing makes me conceal my worth

4. I left a beloved who reminded me of passion
That bites at my heart with memories

5. And came to a land that tries its dweller
Changing ease for him into distress

6. Where one gives up his joys
Turning his heart upon embers

7. A place of decay surrounded by mountains
Where sorrows settle with rain

8. That comes always at the wrong time
And its plains are filled with ruggedness

9. Its winter means death to those who stay
With its icy, bitter cold

10. Its summer sun is scorching
Chaining its fires upon rock

11. You faltered, O enumerator of its flaws
Before you enumerate the sea's wonders

12. I named it the joiner of sorrow
When the news came that I must go there

13. If God permits departure, joy will return
As I seek pleasure to comfort my loss

14. And drink wine from its vessels
Until the gloom turns bright as dawn

15. With a close friend who my devotion knows
Is permitted, not forbidden pleasure

16. Its cups shine like lightning
In his hand or like nuggets of gold

17. I've sacrificed the faith my virtues raised
With the sin and guilt he leads me toward

18. By a night whose worth surpasses
Even the Night of Power's regard

19. On it I was blessed by one who aided me
And grasped the rope of union against separation's brink

20. Reveling in sin without relying on it
Pretending drunkenness to conceal intention's purpose

21. O what an envied night it was
Among the epochs the finest epoch ever known

22. Bring back the days of youth in their grandeur
For old age has no excuse