1. With a life that held the strands of buttons,
With a chord that contains the secrets of love,

2. With the venerable Black Stone, with Safa,
With the House, the corners, the curtains,

3. By Allah, I have fulfilled a radiant covenant,
Fulfilled with wavering from the peg.

4. And enough of the agonized passion of youth complaining
Of the tyranny of time and few helpers.

5. Convey greetings of peace to Andalusia, describe to it
What longing and remoteness of visitation is in me.

6. And if you pass by glorious Grenada,
With its crown, citadel, and bracelets,

7. Greet that abode and its people,
For that tribe is my tribe, that abode my abode,

8. Where that city became a stronghold,
And the river coiled around it like a bracelet,

9. With whatever shade and running water extending before it
In those plains, as far as you wish.

10. The zephyr of wishes blew there, those wishes,
So it smiled in the faces of onlookers.

11. The garden ascended the sky in its beauty,
When it flourished with the river and flowers.

12. So it was as if that river contained a galaxy,
And as if those flowers contained pearls.

13. And lofty Bāshaykha is a promenade for us
With views and sights.

14. Where every garden ended in beauty,
The breeze blew, and the thickets diffused scent,

15. And the branch was perplexed in its motions
Between singing and the trilling of birds.

16. The heart of the youth is nearly spent in gentleness
Between melody and the tune of strings.

17. By Allah, how many nights did we spend in it,
Nights that were like the magic of magicians!

18. And for how long did we spend our time in the shade of youth,
Between coquetry, removing veils, and donning them!

19. A life whose covenant vicissitudes toyed with
Until it became a tale of the tales.

20. I had a covenant noble and generous,
Of which there remains to me only remembrance.

21. Woe to me from the memory of the days of youth!
Behold, my hair has turned white, where then is my dignity?

22. O Lord, take me by the hand from sins
In which I am bewildered, in a tumultuous sea.

23. Do not seize the sinner for what he deserves,
And pardon me through the status of the Chosen One.