1. He brought her when the night was half over,
Half was behind me, its twin still ahead.

2. He said, "Learn that she is of the Banu Arhab,
And you have the night that you crave."

3. His advice after the eloquence he had bought
For two thousand, no dirhams were withheld from her price.

4. And if the night allows you, it will be yours,
Otherwise your tongue or hands will be bound.

5. The Bahzawi sufficed me with two words from those who refuse
Among men and jinn, fearing their crimes,

6. The noble Jesus, of generosity and glory,
If wealth does not raise a miser, his virtues are vain.

7. He crept past the guards' heads, risking
The wrath of a mighty, firm king.

8. She passed the cave people as though she were
A thick darkness competing with the wings of a soft night.

9. As if her cheek strap was a sail with its tie ropes
Of twisted silk, but for her snout and canine tooth.

10. As if her legs were strapped to the saddle
Of a noble, pure-bred stead, firm are its bindings.

11. I woke with the racing-ground behind me, Ḥanbal nearby,
She did not bolt until the night was pitch black.

12. Between her eyes she saw ruwiya and injaala
The dawn shone upon a lofty, smooth plain.

13. When the horsemen come after me, surrender to them,
And turn away from the valley behind me.