1. How many excuses I offer my blamers,
And how my defender argues on my behalf.

2. Yet still they claim knowledge of my love for him,
Told by my tears and sleepless nights.

3. They seek to be absolved of caring for me,
Though words cannot heal one whom eyes have pierced.

4. They said, "You've left the deserts." I said, "Their love
Is forbidden; both nomad and city have denied it."

5. No living soul can replace him in my heart,
Nor do memories of our union leave a trace.

6. I do not pine for one who aids my love
With wine and music to ward off sleep.

7. I turn my eyes from the sun's beautiful face,
Finding solace in the radiance of the moon.

8. A staff with a full moon adorns its top,
Whence came this flowering and fruit?