Al-Mu'tamid ibn Abbad Poems

I HOLD thee ever in my heart; absent, Mu'tamid prays
That endless as his tearful nights may be thy pleasant days,
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My share of life is finished; I am laid
On my death-bed.
Did he not die, our father Adam, also,
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The sea hath tempered it; the mighty sun
Polished the blade,
And from the limpid sheath the sword leaps forth;
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Go not, beloved and cruel; I have not strength
To say farewell to thee, thou canst not go!
Behold the fountain of my tears at length
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Pale fingers of the drowsy dawn have rent
The garment of the night, and thou, beloved,
Tearest the sad weeds of my discontent
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Salma, Salma, have I forgotten thee?
In the glow of the fight I remember the night
When we parted;
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Woo not the world too rashly, for behold,
Beneath the painted silk and broidering,
It is a faithless and inconstant thing.
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