translation by Issa J. Boullata
May Love Be Praised
About him:
Praise be to Him who has made love a “fate” for us
Offer your rose before the dream is extinguished
This month is one of God’s months that is beginning
O strange woman
And the farthest distance from you is alienation
About her:
Praise be to Him who has made a “fate” for us
of one love meeting another love
and who has made Time more knowledgeable than we are
Two eyes observing the horizon of love’s absence, wondering
will it rise when the sunrise is on the wane
Both singing:
Have mercy on a love that is more
than a woman coming out of a man’s rib
more than a swelling, leaving an emptiness inside her
Praise be to you
she is the resurrection of a voice coming from nonbeing
after life has flowed into its limbs
She/He:
Primordial matter of chaos
is what knocked on heaven’s doors
a kiss of intercession pouring out on its palms
when night is more than a long chapter in the novel of time
He:
Come, I will paint a star on your palm
and the henna of vision on your other palm
Wave to a direction no one knows but you
and no one will tread on but me
Make the dry river in my land gush
There is water here that used to overflow
being a flood of the gods of love
She:
And washing myself in you
is a bridge that God has extended between two hearts
The water was abundant when it met us
so abundant that it was drowned by us
Confidential whisper:
This breath coming out from deep inside, “Aaah
praise be to you. Help, help. Save us from yearning.” 
Contributor’s notes: Reem Al Lawati
Translator’s notes: Issa J. Boullata