1. The cups of the eyelids rang intoxicated,
So we made them sober with frowning disapproval,

2. And we were not remiss in censuring them, for censure
Has magic to temper such tipsiness and sorcery.

3. They enticed us while languishing with downcast eyes,
But the lion’s glance will never make us pliant.

4. The cheek of a gazelle, slender and graceful,
The figure of a fawn, slim and delicate,

5. Aloof yet endearing, bewitching yet coy,
Beauty ensnares hearts and takes them captive,

6. On her cheek water and breeze wander aimlessly
Over a camp that refused to settle,

7. And make her face a fresh, verdant meadow
That protects the roses and binds them close.

8. So I know not whether the meadows and flowers
Suit her beauty better, or the round lustrous moon.

9. When eyes glance at her they kindle a flame,
And livers burn for ages with yearning so keen.

10. As for her eyes - those languorous deadly charmers -
They make lover’s madness reasonable and right!

11. A mole lies midway the bow of her eyebrows,
Making her beauty’s pole-star clear and bright,

12. A branchlet, her night is sundered by a gap
Through which morn peeps out radiant at first light.

13. She covered my sight and hearing altogether
With her heavy hair, knots that allure and excite;

14. With her slender mouth she hands me a cup
And speaks to me sweetly, making me drunk with delight.

15. Bewitched by her beauty, my heart can do naught
But conjure and dream of her image both day and night

16. I wander about, crazed by love, none’s the wiser,
Having no fear of censure or estrangement in sight.

17. And yet, at times conceit makes absence seem real,
As though I were awake, self-possessed and upright!

18. How could one awaken who is made to drink
A cup refilled constantly in imagination’s sight?

19. How soon, my soul, you at home here did feel,
Far more than all others whose lives are a blight!

20. I disobeyed my qualms and obeyed my passion
Which cunningly made me her captive outright,

21. I never gave in to my rivals from spite or fear
Even when my load grew heavy and my steps lost their spright.

22. Instead, I sought to marry the fairest of houris,
To please them I made my dowry my might!

23. O Fatima, know you my firm resolve?
My towering ambition and pride in my fight?

24. My valiance, derring-do and prowess in war?
My truthfulness, be the fray tricky or slight?

25. I never complain of the times as unjust,
Nor disobey the convention my peers think is right.

26. My swords bend docile for those who make peace,
And stiffen at once if sly predators bite.

27. I reckon not plenty a thing to be hoarded,
But good repute I count my best might.

28. Not all whispered is fit to be spread,
Nor all thus spread can survive the test of hindsight.

29. Trial alone removes doubt,
And experience confirms what is right.