Dearer to me!
[1]_And the earth met with rain!_
A handful of dates, a cup of camel's milk
Is dearer to me, dearer to me
Than any sweetmeat in the city walls.
Dearer to me!
_And the earth wet with rain!_
A slender Bedouin maid, freely unveiled
Is dearer to me, dearer to me
Than harem beauties with henna-stained fingers.
My Bedouin maid is slim as the _ishkil_ tree.
Dearer to me!
_And the earth wet with rain!_
Black tent, swift white mare, camel of Hejaz blood
Are dear to me, are dear to me!
Dearest is my slim, unveiled one of the desert sands!
Dearest to me!
Ibla her name is; she blazes like the sun,
Like the sun at dawn, with hair like midnight shades,
Oh, dear to me!
Paradise is in her eyes; and in her breasts, enchantment.
Her body yields like the tamarisk,
When the soft winds blow over the hills of Nedj!
Dearest to me!
_And the earth wet with rain!_
[Footnote 1: _W'al arz mablul bi matar._ A favorite refrain for songs
among the Arabs, to whom rain represents all comforts and delights.]
A little silence followed the ending of the song and the withdrawal
of the girls and musicians.
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