A poem by Abdar Rahman V – Caliph of Cordoba (1002 – 1024)
Translated from the Arabic by George Bossong
Gold on Lapislazuli
Land has become night for me
Since you left me.
Oh gazelle, you destroy
Our love, break the covenant!
Have you forgotten our covenant?
When we were lying on a bed of roses,
Wrapped us in a sash,
Formed a pearl necklace,
How two branches embraced us
And fused into one body?
Stars shone in the sky at night,
Gold on lapis lazuli.