1. The lord of lords insisted on being graceful,
On constant union and gentleness,

2. Time assisted me in that and so he relented,
Ashamed of my oppression he repented and excused.

3. And if the bough has some of its stature,
It's a disgrace if I call it bending.

4. He waited for the spies’ inattention and then visited us,
Deviation from the path out of caution.

5. His shoes touched no spot on earth,
Without bequeathing it grace.

6. Eyes gaze at his cheeks so they bend,
Petals fall upon the ground, plucked.

7. Did I dream or was it the fancies of youth,
Depicting him, or did God bare Joseph?

8. Why did the full moon and sun unveil when it did not set?
I try to divert it but it is eclipsed.

9.
Do you not fear your eyes will be struck,

10. And your bough, if it inclines, will break?
Nor did he warn the spies about his glances,

11. The brandishing of a sword between his lids.
He said, I came longing for you all, youthfully,

12. To you out of respect and yearning.
A man is not one who treats his brother equitably while present,

13. But one who, if absent, still does him justice.
He left and I did not know from the shock of my bewilderment,

14. If I should fly with joy or die with regret.
O visit that did not heal a stricken heart,

15. Rather increased my love and weakened me.
When we imagined the gift for him,

16. He imagined joy and gracefulness in it.
When we extended the gift to him,

17. Passion views it as a love token.
To the meadows of Baqilah, I fear to convey

18. What is in me of passion for him, and halve it.
We carried fingers of bananas, though no sooner,

19. Had we plucked them then beauty adorned them.
Black but dyed with safflower, their color transformed

20. To a more resplendent red than coals.
Like the mouths of Zanj seeing the skin blackened,

21. But close up, a lovely complexion.
Like a beloved’s creation, fearing the gossip of critic,

22. So he feigns aloofness while true in affection.
Snatched from the lair of a loving mother

23. Loyal though pained he's hunted for pleasure.
Fed like an infant whose illness grew long

24. So his parents bent fondly over for his care.
When the edges of his feathers began to show, like

25. The first growth of plants showered with drops.
He who hoped for great gain cultivated him,

26. And became most protective and gentle to him.
He feeds him what he craves and gives what he desires,

27. Then after satiety, restrains him.
When eyes saw him they were amazed, saying:

28. He has reached perfection, nay exceeded it!
He shed blood that he once preserved

29. Like teardrops of a melancholy heart roused by tyranny.
Struck until I feared his wing

30. Had become my heart one moment, then it fluttered off.
They brought him as a captive, his enemies overpowered him

31. After war and shackled him.
He has sisters like him, a pair who loved

32. What they had been together once.
The omen told me the prediction, giving glad tidings:

33. You two shall ever be thus, so reconcile!
Woe to you! From the memory of one who

34. Embellished life for us, was gentle or cruel.
Never before this day did I see a rarity of a gift

35. That delighted more, outshone, glorified or ennobled.
We learned from it after, how to be graceful,