1. My tears flow and I ask why,
My passion rages wildly.

2. My heart beats fast, estranged from my love -
My face pale and distressed.

3. I said to her while the earth
Spun dizzily before my eyes,

4. The pleiades, though folded close,
Were wider than a winnower's basket.

5. I swear by God, I'm possessed
By a slave-girl who enslaves all men effortlessly.

6. She occupies my thoughts with her beauty -
In her eyelashes there reigns a Babylonian king.

7. If a critic blames me for love,
I'm too busy with my obsession to respond.

8. Or if an oppressor one day accuses
An innocent man, the accusation won't stick.