In search of you, I wander the vast desert of sand,
As if I am not a lover at all,
But a helpless, lost Beduyin.
The thirst of love burns through my chest,
Spreading fire across my whole being,
Yet there is no water anywhere,
Only deceiving mirages, the haze of the desert.
Through the heart of that mirage emerges a wondrous palace,
Before my eyes rises the castle of dreamlike love.
I thought surely, you were there.
I sought you within its walls again and again,
Yet never could I pass through its gates.
At the entrance, the guards stood firm, declaring aloud,
“No one may enter this palace without you.
For the only key to this palace is you,
Just as the key to Paradise is namaz.”