1. A spectre pained the lover
His eyelids did not blink

2. A thought captured him
And a secret veiled him

3. He came to me, delving
Into copious tears overflowing

4. And said, my beloved, why
Did you not tend devotion nor excel

5. What patience did Jacob have
When asked of Joseph?

6. So I answered him with apprehension
And pleading and yearning

7. My life for you! What is this aloofness
That kills and repels me?

8. No - by Him who has deposited
In the heart of the lover

9. I did not seek your nearness
But time has not aided me

10. What can I do? Fate has opposed me
And days have betrayed me

11. For love and loyalty
Are my nature without pretense

12. I, of purity to you, my affection
But I have not been just

13. The lover weeps so the fires
Of passionate love are quenched

14. And tears flow down his cheeks
While the flames of longing are within

15. Oh stranger! He has spent sorrow
While his beloved does not know him