Sol 5.6

  1. They are every longing and every hope,

    whether they sever the bond or keep it;

  2. in both states—their nearness

    and distance—whether lavish or withholding,

  3. whether they wrong my frailty, delay

    their desertion, or deal justly.

  4. I shall never change toward them,

    even if they change.

  5. Nor am I turned away from them

    by the weariness of all I endure.

  6. If they withdraw their affection,

    the truth of my love advances still.

  7. They are the folk of Badr—full moons, never to be

    held guilty for anything they do.

  8. No limb in me is free of illness

    from loving them.

  9. My passion for them has never ceased,

    for it is rooted in eternity.

  10. The beauty of their gazelles

    has made love-poetry sweet to me.

  11. Alas for my longing to be near them!

    The night of my temple-lock is deepest night.

  12. And before the downpour of my tears,

    their coming is a watering-place for me.

  13. Their Khayf is my sanctuary

    from fear of them, and my stronghold.

  14. And everyone with a beautiful face

    holds for me some epitome of them.

Sol 5.6