Sol 6.1

  1. ألمَّ فأذكَرَهُ ما نَسي

    خَيالُكَ في غَسقِ الحِندِسِ

    It visited and reminded him of what he had forgotten—

    your apparition, in the gloom of pitch-black night.

  2. وأصبَحَ يَطمعُ في عَودِه

    بوَصلٍ من القاطِع المُؤيِسِ

    And he began to hope, upon its return,

    for reunion from the one who severs ties and causes despair.

  3. وحمراءَ مُجبرةٍ للعقولِ

    على أن تُطيعَ هَوى الأنفُسِ

    And red wine, compelling minds

    to obey the desires of souls,

  4. ببَيتٍ يطوفُ بِها مَن نَبي

    تُ كأنا بِأجفانِهِ نَحتَسي

    was passed round in a house by one; we spent

    the night as though sipping from his eyelids.

  5. أتانا بِها وأتى خَدُّه

    بأشرقَ مِن لونِها مُكتَسي

    He brought it to us, and his cheek came

    clad in a hue brighter than the wine's.

  6. وجاءَت لواحظُه بالسِّها

    مِ ووافَت حَواجِبُهُ بالقِسي

    And his sidelong glances came with arrows,

    and his eyebrows arrived with bows.

  7. يُسيءُ فإن لم أُقِم عُذرَهُ

    عَلى ما تَخيَّر كنتُ المُسي

    He does wrong; if I do not find him an excuse

    for whatever he chooses, I am the wrongdoer.

  8. أرَى روضةً من رياضِ الحُزو

    نِ مُفَصَّلةَ النورِ بالسُّندسِ

    I see a garden among the gardens of the rugged uplands,

    its blossoms set off with fine silk.

  9. لِعزِّ الخُدودِ وصَونِ العُيو

    نِ تَعللتُ بالوَردِ والنرجِسِ

    Since cheeks are beyond reach and eyes are guarded,

    I consoled myself with roses and narcissi.

  10. فأجمحُ خيلِ الهَوى مَركَبي

    وأخشَنُ أثوابِهِ مَلبَسي

    So the most headstrong of passion's steeds is my mount,

    and the roughest of its garments is my clothing.

  11. وفي عَزَماتي زنادُ النوى

    ولكنَّها بعدُ لم تُقبَسِ

    And in my resolves lie the fire-sticks of departure,

    but they have not yet been kindled.

  12. لأَشتَغِلنَّ بها أو تُظنَّ

    عَزائِم عيسى بنُ نَسطورُسِ

    I shall surely devote myself to them until they are thought

    the resolves of Isa ibn Nasturus.

  13. فتىً يُستَدلُّ بليلِ المِدا

    دِ عَلى صُبحِ ألفاظِه المُشمِسِ

    A young man: by the night of his ink one is guided

    to the sunlit morning of his words.

  14. أخو همَّةٍ فتكَت بالنجومِ

    وخصَّت بفَتكتها مَبخَسي

    A man of lofty resolve that struck down the stars,

    and singled out my belittler for its deadly assault.

  15. فإِمَّا تَناهى إلَيهِ الثنا

    فقل للمُجِدِّ بهِ أحبِسِ

    So if praise finds its culmination in him,

    tell whoever presses onward with it: 'Halt!'

  16. كذلكَ مِن شأنِه أن يَكو

    نَ وَقفاً عَلى الأنفَسِ الأنفَسِ

    Such is its nature: to be

    reserved for the finest of the finest.

  17. ألم يَكُ داعي النوى أخرَساً

    ففَهَّمَنا دَعوةَ الأخرَسِ

    Was the herald of departure not mute?

    Yet he made us understand the mute one's call.

  18. أحقُّ امرئٍ أجلسَته العُلى

    ليَفعلَ أمرينِ في مجلِسِ

    He is the most deserving man whom eminence has seated

    to perform two deeds in a single sitting.

  19. أقولُ عَلى غَفلةٍ للزَّما

    نِ وإلا فعَهدي بهِ مُبلسي

    I speak to Time in a moment of heedlessness;

    otherwise, I have known it as the cause of my despair.

  20. أذا المجد ما بالُ جدي أرا

    هُ إذا ما جَددتُ بهِ مُتعِسي

    O master of glory, what ails my fortune? I see

    it making me wretched whenever I strive for it.

  21. ومازلتُ قبلكَ أهدي القَري

    ضَ إلى كلِّ مرزِئةٍ موكسِ

    And before you, I had always offered verse

    to every ruinous man who shortchanged me.

  22. وكانَ يُسامُ بزُهرِ النجومِ

    فأصبحَ يُعرَضُ بالأفلُسِ

    And once it was priced at the radiant stars;

    but now it is offered for copper coins

  23. على كلِّ ذي راحةٍ تَشتكي

    إذا استُرفِدَت وجعَ النقرسِ

    to anyone whose palm complains,

    when asked for a gift, of the pain of gout.

  24. فربَّتما غلطَ الدهرُ لي

    من الناسِ بالباذلِ المُفلسِ

    Yet sometimes Time has mistakenly favored me

    with a generous but penniless giver from among men.