1. O abode of one who after me has killed passion,
They have found none like the passion that was mine,

2. Marvel not, O abode, that they
Have recited poems, and he who finds will recite,

3. A youth nigh upon his time, methinks,
Of wantons, though my time is past,

4. Had one but stirred the ashes with his hand,
He'd see the remnants glowing embers yet.

5. Truly, thy wall, when the breeze spreads
The ringlets of the myrtle branch, delights me,

6. And water polishes it, as the winds reveal
The doubled intertwining branches of the lote-tree.

7. A lovely damsel in thy shade draws nigh
To give the myrtle's spicy fragrance to the sick man,

8. Or a slim-waisted figure sways between the trailing skirts
That twist and twine like candle-wicks.

9. Lightning flashes, gleaming through her,
And thunder startles at the sound of her anklets' bells.

10. I have a gesturing glance that will not waken ardour,
That sheds tears copiously and beats against my cheek,

11. And tender looks that find no warmth, nor yet
Conceal or hide my constant passion.

12. Blame visits me from days that know no pity,
Though some blame profits not.

13. In a world whose blows strike constantly
One knows, and its declining is infectious.

14. Think not sustenance is out of reach;
Sustenance is between the lion's paws.

15. And many a dear companion have I ventured on
Whose whim was as the gnat's towards a rose.

16. I offered up my hand, then snatched it back,
Lest his frivolity should stain my earnestness.

17. And one who, having not responded for a time,
At last accedes, is like the water rising out of solid ice.

18. What road leads to contentment nowadays
In such an age, with life so soft and pleasant?

19. Each night I have a wish and expectations
I have blocked up with my own strength.

20. A man attains not his desires, but is led
From trifling to earnest business.

21. My face is a wide field for censure, yet have I no fear
Of facing heat and cold.

22. With my blood I will drink to the glory
And strive after the highest with all my power.

23. I will roam with my love in crooked paths
Between the rugged heights and valleys.

24. Grant me to meet the one whose love delights me,
At whose greeting my sorrows disappear!

25. And I will recant the blame of Time, if
My hands can clasp the hands of my father Saʿdī.

26. O my friend, though the days have been long absent him,
No day of mine fulfilled my promise to him.

27. My eyes sought him out, for yearning toward him,
If their gaze turned from him, pierced my breast.

28. Think not this absence changed me;
Absence changes not a loving friend's affection.

29. When a man has shown regard in presence,
He redoubles it over absence and distance.

30. Were you to ask my blood, freely I would grant it,
Without disobedience or refusal.

31. Or had I skin to lend, when tongues wagged Death
Would clothe your nakedness with my skin.

32. Or were steps traced, I'd follow in your footsteps
Dragging my skirt behind you.

33. An accident of absence shone like the full moon,
Its trouble dispelled by a fortunate star,

34. And I sprang from it heedless,
Like a sword from the scabbard.

35. God guard you! No purpose has overthrown you
That would cast down riders or piercing arrows.

36. I am he, if fate grows dark, who will
Show my face before you at dawn.