Classic and Contemporary Poetry

THE BANISHED LOVER, by ABD AL-RAHMAN AL-MUSTAZHIR
First Line: All too long the night
Last Line: Lapis lazuli.

All too long the night
Drags, and wearily,
Since you take delight
Thus to banish me.

Treacherous gazelle,
Mistress of delay
In your troth, and well
Tutored to betray:

Have you lost to mind
Those delightful hours
You and I reclined
On a couch of flowers?

And the stars above
Seemed like pearls to be
In an ocean of
Lapis lazuli.