1. In Al-Amariyya, my critics denounce me,
Though her love is no novel tale translated.

2. They want me to renounce love's creed,
Yet without it my heart is staunchly dedicated.

3. With Lubna, had we shared sweetness,
I'd reveal to her refuge every secret.

4. When I try to meet her, a watcher thwarts me,
So I'm content with a submissive apparition.

5. For her, longing, for me, restraint,
I'm midway between pause and wellspring.

6. Her Lord's decree is tending stars,
Whenever I name her, decrees unfold for me.

7. Of pure Arabian steeds she descends,
From the noblest lineage of crescent and perfection.

8. Veiled, beyond her, the branches wither,
Framed above a soft, flourishing bough.

9. If her brocade is scented with musk,
Her camphor is dyed with sweet roots.

10. I hid my love from her, so in parting
I understood the ambiguous and explicit.

11. I stayed and her caravan left without a heart to bid farewell,
Its howdahs between tents camped.

12. The wild birds vie for her there,
Who contends with the white antelope is contended.

13. By her beauty's judgment no argument can stand,
Before an arbiter perfectly enthralled.

14. For the enamored, she makes lawful the slaying
As though lovers' blood were not forbidden.

15. What's it to her if my longing took notice
And she turned to gaiety, free of worry?

16. In the kiss of her veiled lips is a cure,
For the heart broken and distressed.

17. But it's protected by an invincible guard,
Like the keenest blade or strongest fortress.