1. The lover sighed from the burning of passion,
On an eve when the camels were gathered for parting.

2. So he spent the night hiding his tears in his cloak—
And what tears are shed into the cloak's folds!

3. When the living discern a flash in the Yemeni,
Gleaming for them beneath the skirts of darkness,

4. Longing for the sands clung to their bosoms,
While the Yemeni's life was but milking and sipping.

5. Were it not for love, my gaze would not have followed
The piercing flashes of the two eyelids.

6. And I had feared the raven of separation—so how
Could its dire tidings make me quake?

7. Among the band are maidens whose pact with me
Is strong, though the camping-grounds are far.

8. O eyes that dart, can you make out the enclosure?
For my eyes' companion is drowned in tears.

9. Among those parting were noble scions,
Known for their steeds in both valleys.

10. There were virtuous fellows, sweet of scent,
And smooth swords that clash like bangles.

11. I see their abodes thriving, and every
New moon that dwelt in al-Udhayb, a friend.

12. And she had me in her grasp while the sands were calm,
With a love for Umm al-Walid that clung fast.

13. I have delights that steal away a man's senses
When we come together, and the wine is sipped.

14. But absence, that scatterer, scattered us apart,
So that some shifted camp, and others moved on.

15. I was downcast when our neighbors pulled out—
Some groups left while we remained a group.

16. We set out for al-Zawra from the right side of the enclosure
On camels with fast pacing feet.

17. We're visiting the Commander of the Faithful, unmatched
In the hidden pathways of the deep sands.

18. No land but has from every side a route
To his gate, for those seeking refuge.

19. He has a tremor amid the people's assembly for the dew,
As the pendant necklace of the flirt trembles.

20. A good omen he shows, and awe—
That alarms the gazer—and pleases.

21. A hand that pours forth like pouring clouds,
And a face that gleams like the crescent moon.

22. Glory dwells at the Ancient House, and might
Within reach of the two fir trees.

23. Imam of mankind, I cling to your cause,
My gaze fixed hopefully upon you.

24. I march on, aspiring to great deeds, which for
Their seeker are attained only through you.

25. I bloom though time fills me with dread,
While its fangs cannot pierce your bastion's walls.

26. I was born of a clan whose ancestor
Was he of the curly hair—al-Sāq al-Ḥajjāj.

27. I knock on the doors of the Caliphs,
Through them, and at the courts of kings.

28. Were it not for you, dappled horses would not have reached
Badghis whose stirrups resound beneath the saddle.

29. How many companions have they left behind
Whose neighing equals their own!

30. Though my own steeds stamp in grief for them,
When grief meets me, I endure it calmly.