Your anklet finds the marble seam,
Where jasmine leans above the pool;
I hide a smile behind my veil,
You read it clear as noon.
The peacock fans its painted eyes,
The lamps are dressed in saffron flame;
I crossed the garden, cup in hand,
And still forgot my name.
One step from you, one turn from me,
The whole court holds its breath;
Come nearer now, let joy decide
What neither dares confess.
Come, beloved, circle near,
Let the courtyard ring with cheer;
Your hand in mine, the night made new,
My heart keeps turning back to you.
Come, beloved, laugh and stay,
Let the peacocks greet the day;
Before the dawn can claim the sky,
Say once again that you are mine.
You brought me a pomegranate,
Its ruby seeds upon your palm;
I took one, left the rest with you,
And watched you lose your calm.
The old musicians know our secret,
They stretch the raga, sweet and slow;
You glance toward me, then look away—
The answer all the courtiers know.
If silk can keep a secret,
If stone can guard a flame,
Then let these palace walls remember
How softly we spoke each name.
Come, beloved, circle near,
Let the courtyard ring with cheer;
Your hand in mine, the night made new,
My heart keeps turning back to you.
Come, beloved, laugh and stay,
Let the peacocks greet the day;
Before the dawn can claim the sky,
Say once again that you are mine.
One more turn beneath the arch,
One more smile before we part;
The morning may unbind our hands,
It cannot untie heart from heart.
