1. She wept her passion weakly and I almost lost hope
Doves, their voices gentle, mournful

2. They called to each other when dawn lifted its veil
And the gloomy night peeled away its cover

3. So I let loose floods of tears that solaced me
With intimacy amid my aching ribs

4. And lightning flashed for me from a cloud, smiling
I did not know which lightning I should choose

5. My insomnia lengthens if the lightning slumbers
And my patience frays if the breeze stirs

6. And how can I hope to recover when all
That fate has flung at me is ruinous and bleak

7. A left hand numb as drowsiness, a right
That lions seized their prey with, rough

8. Can any lover find rest for his desires
When longing robs him of tranquil sleep?

9. So do not spurn me, daughter of the tribe, though
My fortunes have been foolish, I am forbearing

10. I close my eyes to fortune’s lightning flash
And praise the bitter draughts of life, however foul

11. I kiss the dust if misfortune strikes me
And shards of pottery suffice when waterskins are dry

12. I do not complain of time’s tyranny
Upon a servant of the sun of yore

13. The nights sever my tenuous ties
And misfortunes crush and straiten me

14. I lean my cheek upon the lute but find
No solace there, no mother of devotion true

15. They have souls but war yawns with greedy maw
At the arena of lethal war they stand

16. Their faces scowl and rage shows its thorns
Like the grim faces of lions, teeth bared

17. They are buds, radiant at dusk, never losing
Freshness or delight till dawn caresses them

18. Greed has crept among their writers, all
Rough-handed, base when visited by a poor friend

19. If not for our brother from Bajilah, they would have
No repute among the common folk

20. He is the white spot on their brows, while they
Are the gloom of uncertainty, all dense

21. Would that the mounts were but daydreams and shadows
Not following the herd when it wanders astray

22. At every camp where the sun halted its course
The meager shade was straitened and spare

23. I will leave them, living on water clear
My honor untouched by the taint of disgrace

24. If they know not my worth, what care I?
I excel at tearing the vile to shreds