1. A gentle breeze blew from their abode in peace,
Reviving with its greeting my languishing passion.

2. If it drew from the bosom of love a painful yearning,
It also later ignited the flames of desire.

3. Did it greet me with a gentle wind or a passing scent?
With it I became intoxicated, drunk from a flowing cup.

4. Before its joy, dawn breathed its fragrance,
And I was perfumed with the most splendid fragrances.

5. Its aroma brought healing to one lovesick,
Whose feelings were bound in agony.

6. When she drew near me, I shed my bonds,
And hastened to rise up in veneration.

7. She unveiled the veil from her beauty’s radiance,
Illuminating my home and its dwellings.

8. I sharpened my hearing for the gems of her words,
With strands of pearls and perfect composition.

9. I adorned my neck with the short poems of her verse,
Like choice rubies and paired pearls.

10. I know not whether the melody of her rhyme
Was like the cooing of doves or trilling of pigeons.

11. It is as if her ideas were molded to her state,
Revolving perfectly in the darkest gloom.

12. It is as if her structure was like smiling rosebuds
That peeked from behind their protective veils.

13. It is as if her rhymes were garden flowers
That smiled at dawn from behind their masks.

14. How could such a one fail to possess all beauty,
When she has attained the height of perfection?

15. No wonder I deemed her speech to be that of royalty,
Or that royalty itself was her speech.

16. O lord, since fate has denied me closeness to you,
I have stood steadfast, though lovesick and confused.

17. Since remembering our pact, my tears flow down
Like drops from laden rainclouds.

18. With intense longing, my heart has become
Ablaze with fires fueled by embers.

19. You sent verses of poetry that have become
Like amulets on my neck, healing my sickness.

20. With them you expressed an eloquent dialect,
Grasping with your words every last rein.

21. You inherited them from excellent, noble people,
Whose pure Arabic was their habit.

22. And you instilled in them a breath of sincere affection,
With which you sharpened my resolve and readied my arrows.

23. Though I intended to greet you with silence,
Yet my very silence speaks volumes.

24. Message after message comes from me to you,
Spreading praise or extending a warm greeting.

25. With it I salute the one worthy of salutations,
And by Allah, the full moon at its peak.