1. When the wind blows from the flag of glory,
Its coolness relieves the heat of passion and fervor.

2. It reminds me of people whose pacts I kept,
Yet they did not know my worth, nor kept their word to me.

3. Were it not for a maiden dwelling in tents,
I would not have chosen to live near, not far.

4. Dazzlingly beautiful, she weaves magic with her glances,
Bringing the dead to life with but a word.

5. The sun at its setting bids her, “Rise thou up
When darkness falls to shine in my stead.”

6. The radiant moon says, “Unveil thyself,
For thou’rt my peer in perfection and fortune.”

7. Coyly she lets fall her veil,
Strewing dewy rose petals from her cheek.

8. She unsheathes a sword from her languid eyelids
Like her father’s relentless, sharpened blade.

9. With it she battles her eyes, though it remains sheathed,
A wonder that a sword should cut while still in its scabbard!

10. Supple of form, delicate of limb,
Stately of stature, flowing of hair.

11. Musk exhales from beneath her veil,
Intensifying the fragrance of her breath.

12. The light of dawn rises beneath her brow,
Draped in the night of her wavy hair.

13. When she smiles, wine flows between her lips,
Mingling joy with sweetness.

14. Her throat complains of her necklace’s burden,
So both throat and necklace struggle.

15. O daughter of Malik, will Time allow
A union to heal my heart of the pain of separation?

16. Though my people shed my blood, I will dream of pardon,
And, without tribe or gold, show patience for your sake.

17. By your estrangement, my love, you have pained me,
Does separation after me give you the same pain?

18. I feared the separative calamity between us,
Though I never thought I would part from you.

19. If my eyes behold the camels, and on them
I lay my cheek, though they go far away.