1. The lovers find no solace as ordained by God,
Nor loyalty from the fair singing girls.

2. They left souls as prey longing for them,
Bearers of a malady that has no cure.

3. They approach watering places but cannot reach them,
Thirsty though they are for the coolness of drink.

4. They were maddened by the vestiges and waters
Of the abandoned abodes of the Dijla and the Mawa.

5. When they approach a tent, staffs are brandished at them
With shouts and screams rising all around.

6. O my two friends, by God who has claim over you,
Love is naught but sorrow and weeping.

7. As I see, both said this, though haply
In passion there may also be joy and woe.

8. They denied me truly my due, those who make excuses,
And joined foes who will never fulfill.

9. They put me off with a promise for the morrow
But alas, no gain after it, no gift.

10. So they persisted in denying while I persisted requesting
Nothing left but a tryst and a hope.

11. By God, in love I have met from them
A kinship with death from a malady with no cure.