1. With my love of play and passion for maidens
And the bitterness of love, I've shed my chastity

2. With rosy cheeks and swaying figures
And shaking ringlets, I've drunk liquor

3. I drank the draught of passion in the morn
And with that wine I added to my drunkenness

4. A fawn, graceful as a gazelle
My heart fluttered and took flight for her

5. A brunette with dark tresses and a blonde with fair locks
Dazzling minds and stirring passions

6. An archer shooting glances with a wink
Hit my heart and set it aflame

7. Sickly eyelids but sound sorcery
Melting my heart and making my mind soar

8. A queen of beauty, noble in rank
Kings are her prisoners, bowing before her

9. A lovely being, slender in figure
The sun of life makes her glow openly

10. A mole on her cheek seems like a drop of musk
People are confused, not knowing where to look

11. She is the full moon in the sun—even if
Her brightness didn't burn, she would illuminate

12. And when a black spot appeared on her cheek, she said:
"Be a mole on my cheek," and so it became

13. When she smiles or speaks a word
You see lightning though it does not hide

14. The wine of her saliva smells of musk
And her lovers seem drunk from it

15. A gazelle of a herd hunting the fierce beasts
Overpowering them with might and ability

16. She raids my heart with amorous glances
And it becomes a captive, bowing in defeat

17. Beauty adorned itself when it took her
As its description, she wears no clothes but herself

18. She has no night but her flowing tresses
No sun but her radiant brow

19. I see every horizon illuminated through her
And anytime seems like daylight to me

20. I fell in love when I was but an embryo
And so I roamed the deserts, crazed with passion

21. I love approaching and avoiding her
And she, by nature, loves aloofness

22. My love and passion for her grew
And how much patience I lost in her love!

23. I'm driven by the sweetness of her love
Not by my own choice but coerced

24. I concealed my love for her and didn't confess it
And my heart almost burst from it

25. My tears flowed without my will
For my eyes erupted pouring forth

26. Sometimes blood, sometimes purple dye
Other times carnelian and spring rain

27. I abandoned sleep though sleeplessness destroys me
I made the stars my companions through the night

28. How can I sleep, how can I slumber
When I see lovers staying up through dawn?

29. Lovers do naught but keep vigil
And I am named the passionate one—imagine that!

30. The generous ones are none but ‘Ali
My brother in munificence—the oceans narrate of him

31. Expansive, a turbulent sea
How can he be matched, how can he be compared?

32. Noble traits, lofty morals
Praiseworthy qualities—he established glory

33. ‘Ali, so refined and wise
Lofty in status, a towering minaret

34. On the throne of glory, the seat of majesty
Heroes of might were raised in his care

35. A formidable lion, a brave warrior
An ardent hero removing disgrace

36. He storms with resolve, roams with wisdom
And pounces with rage, dragging away the fugitives

37. On a chestnut steed, outrunning the winds
And in the blink of an eye, flying like a bird

38. How excellent a thoroughbred when it gallops, bearing him
Pacing like a lion amongst lions

39. The crescent moon swoops down upon him with a fist
And he fells it upon the compliant one however he wishes

40. When they think to attack him, they say
“Flee! Flee!” Taking to flight

41. Has any horseman stood in battle, charging forth,
Tearing the dust open for this lion?

42. Adorned with forbearance and excellent conduct
Perfection itself joined with dignity

43. In him, I wanted to prolong my praise
But my incapacity made me seek brevity

44. However much I try to eulogize him, my falling short
Is the state of one deficient, prompting apology

45. So here my brother in superiority, a chaste bride
I devised for your praise, a creation

46. A nugget of beauty, a marvel of rhetoric
Upon which I fashioned rhetoric like a bracelet

47. An orphaned pearl, mighty in existence
The treasuries of mansions pale before it

48. Give your attention to it and do not see a fault
One like you veils faults and dishonor

49. Live in safety, behind strong, impenetrable ramparts
And everlasting, protective glory

50. For as long as time remains, no humor has called out at dawn
Nor has a pigeon responded to humor

51. Nor has a lover like me shed his chastity
With love of play and passion for maidens