1. O my companion, stop, let us ask about the house,
Which was revived for us with the waving of branches.

2. The quarter has changed from those who used to inhabit it.
Its beautiful female gazelles walking proudly.

3. And I sometimes see a beautiful herd in it,
Like buds, clothes and unmarried girls.

4. Among them are matchless Indian girls,
Of those who stayed or traveled.

5. Shy when approaching, bold when leaving,
Their anklets of woven string appear gold.

6. They turn away from one whose taste is bitterness,
His coolness is like that of a viper.

7. As if the pearls of their necklaces were from a garden
Bearing the fruits of sorrow’s garden.

8. She stood wavering while her companions around her
Gently pushed away the torrent’s surge as they walked.

9. She glanced at the horizon of meadows coming closer
But in the solitude found no joy in the houses.

10. She said, “If only Abu al-Khattab were with us
To spend the day or recite poetry.”

11. They were not at peace until they saw the scout
Carrying riders and belongings.

12. And a horseman with a falcon, so they said to it
“Here they are, so many of them coming.”

13. When we stopped and hid our mounts,
They changed from courtesy to denial after returning.

14. They said, “Dismount, you have come upon a house near you,
Welcome and greetings to a visiting visitor.”

15. When exhaustion overcame my companions as they slept
I thought, amidst the men of the tribe, myself a perfume seller

16. From the scent of musk spreading, when you knocked,
And the wafting of ambergris and camphor rising.

17. So I said, “Who is this greeter?” And I awoke for him,
“Who is speaking to us, O visitor who has come?”

18. She said, “A lover whom love has afflicted
And love’s pining confused when he wandered.”

19. "Undo your waistband in an unworried abode,
If you wish, and reward a lover for his wandering.”

20. “For I have endured much fatigue from long travel,
And in this visit I have given much excuse.”

21. “Surely the stars do not resemble their shapes,
And they are worse than the stars in information.”