1. Sulaima came, calling you insistently,
Today and tomorrow without cease.

2. She said we'll meet you right on the seventh,
I said, her words chill my heart.

3. If only this talk she described to us,
Could be bought with wealth or child.

4. Then she turned and I awaited her tryst,
Hoping she'd fulfill it without delay.

5. Until when I counted seven days,
And exceeded seven, beyond the count.

6. She said my guardian lion surrounds me,
With a watchful eye, so how dare the lion come near?

7. I continued to fool and trick him,
Until we met one day, barely escaping.

8. Until when she gestured with her glances,
And narrowed her eyes without blinking.

9. O most generous with greetings, and
Most miserly with affection and friendship.

10. My soul hangs on her,
Without her, my body has no goodness left.

11. Passion imposes on me, to find
My happiness, though it's not destined.

12. They blamed me for my vigil, shall I leave it
And excuse me from it out of loneliness?

13. My seclusion with her grew long, and she didn't
Seclude with one who stays up late, leaning on pillows.

14. Complaining of a passion that kills him,
A sadness from which he complains to no one.

15. My eyesight dims from her absence, if
One day she drew near, my eyes would be cured of blindness.

16. A friend said to me, agreeing,
My cup is full, yet I sleep not a wink.

17. Don't rush the matter before its time,
What's destined will come, though the soul boils within.

18. So I said the recklessness of youth pursues me
And greed hurries me on, unbridled.

19. Leave me and Salma to live in her pleasures,
Whether she brings ease or I die worn out.

20. Oh pity, I was alone with her as a child,
My sins with her are not to be counted.

21. So we entrusted each other against
The suspicions, to convey the words of malicious enviers.

22. I've repented of what you disliked, so consider
Forgiveness, for I came with no pretensions.

23. When we met she said to her companion,
Tell him, we're satisfied, so let him sleep and not worry.

24. Such was our affection,
When we're blamed by a reproacher and outcast.

25. With her we while away time however we dislike it,
Hiding bitterness, healing the wounds of sorrow,

26. Until life turned aside from its bitterness,
To the voice of one singing gaily with her.

27. So excuse a lover when he loses his neighbor,
When will you understand who you've lost and miss?