Poetry by Ali bin Al-Shayeb Al-Qahtani
I long to see those dark eyes and celebrate
The eyes that leave all of God's creation in awe
Eyes of a gazelle — in my heart a palace is built
And the palace gate stands open upon its river
When they glance, it is as if their lashes say to me: surrender
For stories have no savour at the evening's start
And I waited for the promise, patient and bound
The patient one finds a moment as bitter as a month
From the moment your eyelash turned, he fell undone
And lingered speaking of you — in secret and in the open
O you who reign supreme over the bashful maidens
You laugh, and all the other virgins are overcome by you
I want to confess to you — neither diminishing nor adding
The ribs of my heart are molten over your pain
Master of my heart's feelings — honour the master
The knight who gave you his weapon and his foal