I'm the Andalusian living between the pleasures of lovers' renion
And the rattles of separation.
I'm the Zahirite from Corddoba
Who has renounced all power and ministerial positions.
I'm the one who was brought up in women's laps
And grew up in their presence,
They're the ones who taught me poetry, calligraphy, and the Qur'an.
Of their secrets, I've learnt what hardly anyone else has learnt.

I'm the one who says: Death is easier than lovers' separation.
This is my law-
To reveal secrets to ardent lovers
In Baghdad and Fes,
In Cordoba and Qayrawan,
To accompany a tear to its burning anxieties,
To bless a rose on its way between a sweetheart and a lover,
And write to you
About this seed which is sufficient
For everyone who is
In the presence of madness
On the paths of hearing and seeing.

Translated by Issa J. Boullata