Ibn Jakh (11th century)
LEAVETAKING On the morning they left we said goodbye filled with sadness for the absence to come. Inside the palanquins on the camels' backs I saw their faces beautiful as moons behind veils of golden cloth. Beneath the veils tears crept like scorpions over the fragrant roses of their cheeks. These scorpions do not harm the cheek they mark. They save their sting for the heart of the sorrowful lover. (translated by Emilio Garcia Gomez & Cola Franzen)
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Revised: February 28, 1996