Sol 6.1

  1. My night has grown long from loving

    one I do not see drawing near me,

  2. ever, as long as there shines

    before your eyes the light of the stars,

  3. or a poem is sung

    by a slave songstress beside a drinker.

  4. So I sought solace without ʿUbayda,

    though love overpowered me.

  5. That woman—if her love were sold,

    I would buy it with my precious possessions.

  6. And if I could, willingly,

    amid calamitous events,

  7. she would surely be ransomed from death

    by my far-off wealth, after my wealth at hand.

  8. My beloved reproached me—and a lover

    is full of reproaches—

  9. over a tale that reached

    her through a liar's words.

  10. So I tossed and turned, sleepless,

    my locks bristling.

  11. How astonishing her turning away!

    And love is full of marvels.

  12. And indeed I said, while tears

    were a garment over my breast:

  13. If despair of ʿUbayda arose,

    my mourner would already have risen.

  14. ʿAbda, by God, release

    from ceaseless torment

  15. a man who, before you, was

    a monk, or like a monk.

  16. He would stay awake the whole night,

    pondering the consequences.

  17. Then he was turned away from worship

    by passion for a budding-breasted maiden.

  18. She distracted him through love for her

    from the Reckoner's reckoning.

  19. A lover whose heart is not

    repentant of its passion for her

  20. complains of pain within his heart

    like the stinging of scorpions.

  21. And likewise the lover suffers

    at the mention of beloved women.

  22. And indeed I feared that

    my kin would depart with my bier,

  23. soon, before I could see

    a gentle side in you.

  24. So if ever I hear a woman weeping

    from among my kinswomen,

  25. lamenting among mourning-clad women

    one slain by budding-breasted maidens,

  26. then know that love for you

    has led me into deadly perils.

Sol 6.1