1. O nights of bliss and times of joy,
When my life was green and hope was nigh,

2. O nights beside the sword that made,
My past, for Zainab's sake, nullified,

3. Sing thou the songs of pipes; my mind
Recalls the pipes and longing satisfied,

4. Tell me of her sister; how she spent,
The night while swords clashed on outside,

5. And enemies saw her all the time,
Where once she lived, dissatisfied,

6. A lioness whose lion was absent,
So she withdrew to loneliness wide,

7. And hid amongst plain woman, though,
She now is threatened on every side,

8. She still seeks freedom whilst I, alas,
Am pinned by multitudes of pride,

9. Not that I failed to help her, no,
But I was one, they were a tide.