1. A specter of my love from Ulayya came to me
After my family had wished I'd recover from grievous ills

2. I was as a palm whose trunk lies broken
When the ropes of those who would climb it fail

3. So I can devise no more schemes after my standing
For one with a broken limb from Ulayya to cure

4. And if people were to portray virtue
It would diminish it greatly in each describer's eyes

5. For virtue owns half of all charm
Along with a beautiful discretion before the zealous

6. I remembered you, O mother of the highborn
While around us lie open the gates of imprisoning dungeons

7. A soul that ached for Ulayya has confessed
To prolonged estrangement whenever she does not redouble her efforts

8. So if the Merciful releases my bond I will fulfill it
With vows from eager lips should I live to do so

9. Otherwise, the messenger will convey it as it is destined
To reach her in the scrolls of parchment

10. And if the mother of the exalted were to settle in her abode
Then she would find me hastening to her without hesitation

11. And how many bonds has the mother of the exalted severed
Of hearts fastened by weak vision

12. My heart insisted on finding solace in a longing
Whose mention came amidst the sleepless and the blissful

13. By one in thrall to the sword who cries out among them
Against the bitterness that she was opposed

14. Like a garden for the waterways when they meander
Through it, from a barren and desolate wasteland