1. The night has come, so rise and scatter
From your face, light over this garden.

2. And pluck for me a rose, kiss it,
Strung with the pearls of dawn as ornament and scatter.

3. And fill your cup for me with saliva
That intoxicates the spirits with fragrance and incense.

4. The rose of your cheek is the counterpart of a polished sword—
So let me kiss this counterpart rose.

5. Love has purified my heart so it became
Like a child’s heart—O pure water!

6. The life of the soul is a feeling of sorrow,
And sorrow creates feeling in the soul.

7. Fill the lantern with oil and leave
The slaves of illusion in electric light,

8. And sing the songs of passion—
May the tunes of song intoxicate the spirits.

9. And lift your eyes to the horizon to see
What beauty and majesty is in the sky.

10. Our cottage, O Mayya, in this land
Cannot be compared to the palaces of princes.

11. We have secured the strength of people through it—
What gain is there for the powerful among us?

12. We are weak, O Mayya, and this
Is all we own—the palm of the weak.

13. Listen to the news of the gardens of the land
And leave us from the talk of people.

14. My nightingale today is sad and silent—
I wonder which beloved he has remembered?

15. The sweet basil bloomed and smiled
When the eyelid of rain flirted with it.

16. That fig tree that shaded us—
The wind toyed with it at night and it scattered.

17. Dawn shone on the garden’s flowers
Scattering its pearls on what was scattered.

18. So pluck what you wish from it and lift
Crowns of flowers over this parting.

19. Do not say: Tell the news of people,
The news of these flowers is enough for us.

20. And deafen me to their news—
It wounds the hearts of young women.

21. A nation that unjustly kills its sister,
And a tyrant with the weak.

22. Blood dyed the face of the land,
And tears flowing like valleys.

23. And weeping nations complaining
Of the misery of captivity, and others laughing.

24. And a life whose entirety is harm—
This life has not watered the covenant of life.

25. Listen: You will hear in their land
Only voices of weeping and crying,

26. A father crying for his son, whom
The greed of mighty people has claimed in turmoil,

27. And a compassionate woman who lost her only one
So she sought solace in mourning.

28. The laughter of the mighty rose up
While the voice of the weak rose in lament.

29. They corrupted the water for its drinkers
So it became regret in the livers of the thirsty.

30. How can the crop of fields water
When they mixed it with torrents of blood?

31. Mayya: Sorry, why do your eyes—
In them, the threads of pearls have scattered?

32. Have I not saddened you, O Mayya? Will
The Merciful forgive me for this digression?

33. Count me a liar, and smile,
And let me sip these drops—

34. Pure tears dissolve the dew
That fell above the sleeves of flowers.

35. God does not shepherd a strong invader
With swords active and unsheathed.

36. You are bereaved, yet he laughs
And sees the blood-smeared swords and gloats.

37. Stop your tears, O Mayya, for they have
Wounded my heart, these tears.

38. And forget the world of evil—for there is no
Covetousness in the guidance of these wilds.

39. And leave the formidable, lofty palace—
This open space is enough for us.

40. And be content: the most miserable of wilds is a covetous one,
Wandering in his ignorance, never content.

41. Under the branches of tufts in the wild
Is the most sublime temple of pure love,

42. The temple of love in which I kneel
Reverently: For what love is without reverence?

43. Behold, here in the garden—and the garden is the scent—
Is the pledge of God that brings believers together.

44. So wear the wreath, O Mayya, for dawn has
Shone on the world, making clear.

45. The wedding feast—and the garden’s flowers
Have invited us, O daughter of Goodness, in droves.

46. And the garden’s birds, O my beauty,
We have appointed as singers.

47. The nightingale comes—so kneel and bow down
And leave the flowers to kiss the forehead.

48. O you who grant us the blessings
Of the devout and righteous.