1. The rose and apple blossom on the rosy cheeks,
And from the eyes, arrows and sword blades.

2. Do not covet a protected paradise,
At its door is the sword and the archer.

3. Loss lies in daring wherever
The invader is legitimately killed on the fence.

4. I plucked the rose from it, though thorny,
And the apple leaned toward me from it.

5. And my token from its flower and fruit
Is this fragrance, for it is aromatic.

6. If you told me our flirtations played with us
As if we were a tree and they were winds.

7. I played with their hearts until I emptied them
Of all feeling, and the strong have no wings.

8. Or if you said from their glances at the youth
Are arrows, and from their figures, spears.

9. I fought them with the like of what they fought me
Until a weapon breaks the other.

10. I am a lover sophisticated in his love,
And for every door he has a key.

11. So when I fell for a beauty I visited her
And the veil was lifted and the headscarf removed

12. And I came to make her laugh and I laughed while love
Was jest and beneath me a passionate lover.

13. Love is not misery and gloom
Rather, it is delights and joys.

14. So how I privately met with Ghada in her love
While tears flowed and lives were sacrificed.

15. And a frolicker in a lively and violent gathering
That made even the butcher flee.

16. So I remained, drinking her saliva and nectar
While I had from her an underskirt and sash.

17. She said enough but I said there was still more
To banish sorrows and relieve anxiety.

18. So she threw my cup then said thus
Are you diverted, so let cups break.

19. And how I reveled in a boat outing
While waves and spirits played with it.

20. And my sweetheart’s hair tie was loosened
While her forehead was a lamp beneath the darkness.

21. And the wave whispered its secret to the oar
While I confessed the secrets of love.

22. So I said to the boatman, who kept rowing
While the boat was a bird and the sail, wings.

23. O you who take me on the ship of my bliss
Gently and carefully, O boatman.