1. I was told that from my life the dearest wish would depart,
And waking became to me like dreams.

2. Oh my eternal happiness, do not leave me
With a wish that you grant me your permanence.

3. With the rising of each star and its setting,
A memory renews for me bonds of my passion.

4. As long as I live, I will not forget my youth and its meadows,
From which I embarked and in which my stay was pleasant.

5. And charming girls from the daughters of my tribe
Who guard glances and whose speech is eloquent,

6. Each singing girl, charming in her adornments,
Has in my soul, beyond what can be bought with riches.

7. A nomad, alluring in her beauty,
Her modesty was coupled with her daring.

8. She goes seeking difficult sustenance, not weakened,
And returns in the darkness.

9. And she is distinguished, despite the hardship in her living,
By a nature like the balsam-scented flower.

10. When I witnessed their company, and perhaps
I talked with them and was not blamed.

11. Or I witnessed their amusement - and can the virtuous
See other than the innocent as entertaining?

12. And when the traveling men gathered,
Calling between tents and dwellings,

13. They talked about what they came upon or what they feared
Of every significant matter of matters grave,

14. And it was rare they gossiped about the enormity of
The sorrows and pains they encountered,

15. These empty expanses were a settled kingdom
Revived by markets and livestock.

16. My clan, the valiant horsemen, and my father -
In them was the wise and judicious guardian.

17. A pioneer of lofty goals of prosperity, his kingdom
Encompassed the farms, increasing and spreading,

18. He built magnificent structures amidst gardens
Watered by the pure, flowing springs.

19. How excellent were its walls and its suburbs
Overlooking the planted, slumbering cotton,

20. Its yards blossomed over its ponds
At times, and were moist with thriving saplings.

21. I did not live comfortably among the generous
Of my people and the honorable,

22. Had God not increased me from His bounty
Beyond what I hoped for from His blessing.

23. I traversed it, and around the wells were vessels
Scattered without order,

24. They returned filled with jars brimming over,
About to drip atop the reservoir.

25. When a guest appeared suddenly dismounted,
And his camels' trappings stirred my sentiments,

26. I noticed him for the first time and saw in him
Nothing but the full moon in its glory.

27. I gave him drink and drank in the sight of him,
Until we were satisfied, and every thirst was quenched.

28. I did not miss seeing him in its splendor, except
A vision that appeared to me in sweet slumber.

29. Conversing, he asked who was my father and lingered in
Asking, as he wished, about my family and lineage,

30. Seeking amiability in speech - and what did
My uncles' lineage and lineage matter to me?

31. Then he inclined, and in my night he gave me
Pleasure such as I never tasted, ever.

32. He turned away, and in the morning returned, binding his camel,
Receiving him generously as a loyal guest.

33. He walked the path of passion stealthily,
And God knows what forbidden path he walked.

34. He kept watching me and filling his hearing
With what my passion had aroused of melodies,

35. Until I turned and his matter did not discourage me -
And there before me was the noble youth of yesterday.

36. Among all the beautiful, I found him most beautiful,
And matched his years with my own years.

37. Since we met, his love shone upon me,
And I hid my secret, though his love discerned my secret.

38. It was an hour when hope uncovered its darkness
From my eyes with the rising of the trusted one.

39. Oh, its blessing! Would that he had not surprised me with it -
A lifetime with a glance swift as arrows.

40. God forbid that I be pleased with it
As a husband when he was not pleased with me as his maid.

41. Shall I sell the best of men for the worst of men? In
My nature and character lies refusal of the vile.

42. Praise to Him by whose love for my beloved He decreed
And raised me to the highest station among women!

43. A new lifetime, purified for us by the Quran -
No disturbances of days made it murky.