1. Out of the blue, a flashing ray appeared to me languidly,
Stilling the pouring of my tears and stealing slumber from my eyes.

2. As though the pure white meadows were in the hands of one scattering them
Across the western horizon, strewn and tossed.

3. From afar, I glanced at it with the gaze
Of a heart's messenger, too timid to meet its gaze.

4. It has a brow like an army, its blackness scattered
By the sparks of shooting stars that ripped through its expanse as they darted.

5. I lie awake, and yearning is an adversary that defeats me,
When it calls my tears, they flow and pour forth abundantly.

6. And I called out to it from Najd and its people,
"O people of Najd, will you repay me in kind?"

7. Alas! The trouble of my passion knew and was wary of it—
Exhaustion that robbed my bones and stole slumber from my eyes.

8. And gray hair that stripped youth bare, as though it were
The lamp of dawn rending the night with its whiteness.

9. A beautiful, praised, delicate gazelle,
In whose glances a subtle ailment is shattered and stilled.

10. When she walks she sways a slender branch over a delicate stem
Like the swaying of a gentle breeze blowing tenderly over sweet basil.

11. I asked her for love's supererogatory gifts, knowing that she
Grants even her passionate lovers no more than what duty requires.

12. Each day amidst the darkness of our separation
I see the traces of lasting gray hairs dissipating.

13. While time used to welcome my youth,
Now the hands of time toss me aside and scatter me.

14. The kingdom of youth assailed me, and now
The eyes of mortal man tear me down and destroy me.

15. Fate turned its blade upon me,
Cutting me with wounds, racking me with pain.

16. I left behind the cool water of life and its flowing stream,
And for its smooth surface, I was exchanged with a growling panther.

17. Restrain yourself! For fate is not as you have known it to be,
And we cannot control whatever we wish.

18. Inevitably, good fortune must heed misery’s call,
And joy’s ban must end, though it cannot end.

19. I see fate judging as it wills, sovereign,
While man owns neither bestowal or withholding.

20. And if after knowing me you still ignore me,
I was presented to events after you all the same.

21. I fear not the eyes of a people whose peers
I see in their descendants, mellowed and ripened.

22. I send my sighs on high to them
When sorrows flame and rack me with burning pain.

23. After they left, I joined the wings of love,
Some feathers supporting others, some letting others fall.

24. My heart, how can it keep pace?
While the roads of my sorrows leave it behind, abandoned?

25. O lady of the howdah, provision a rider
Who follows a land whose people have welcomed his coming.

26. How can I live among a people whose faces’ smiles
Seem pleased with my greetings while goodwill between us waned?

27. The hand of hatred and enmity crept between us,
While man owns neither love nor hate.

28. Alas! Many gentle deeds return as shame and disgrace,
And ignorance rewarding you with what you wish.