Sol 6.1

  1. أجب ما اسم خماسي

    ترى من أمره عجبا

    Tell me: what five-letter name is this,

    whose workings make you marvel?

  2. له طرفان قد رفعا

    إِذا ما راح متصبا

    It has two ends that are raised

    whenever it stands upright.

  3. وكل منهما يُلفى

    ثلاثياً إذا طلبا

    And each of the two is found

    to be three-lettered when sought.

  4. وما اجتمعا وما افترقا

    ولا بَعُدَا ولا اقتربا

    They neither join nor part,

    nor move apart nor draw near.

  5. وكل منها طرف

    لصاحبه إِذا جنبا

    And each of them is a steed

    for its fellow, when led alongside.

  6. يروم نضاله أبداً

    وكل راح منسحبا

    It forever seeks to contend with it,

    yet each goes off retreating.

  7. ويرفع قدره كلُّ

    إِذا ما راحَ مُنْغَلِبا

    And each raises its fellow’s standing

    whenever it is overcome.

  8. ويلقي للظبي شركاً

    يمدُّ لصيدها طُنُبَا

    And it casts a snare for the gazelle,

    stretching cords to capture her.

  9. وإِن حَوْلتَه فعلاً

    وصفق جدَّدَ الطربا

    And if you turn it into a verb,

    and it claps, it rekindles delight.

  10. وإِن صحفت ذاك الأص

    ل صبَّ الماء منسكبا

    And if you alter the dots of that origi-

    nal, it pours water, streaming forth.

  11. جرى عند الثناء وإن

    بدا لك صيْفه نضباً

    It flows when praised, even if

    its summer seems dry to you.

  12. وخمساه غدا بحراً

    إِذا ما راج منقلبا

    And two-fifths of it become a sea

    whenever they circulate in reverse.

  13. ويلفى كله غافٍ

    إِذا ما قلبه سُلِبَا

    And the whole is found asleep

    when its heart is taken away.

  14. وإِن عمّيتَه قل فيه

    وصفاً راح مجتلبا

    And if you make it a riddle, say of it

    a description thus called forth:

  15. كظبيٍ راح مُلْتَفِتاً

    بخال إِن بدا خلبا

    Like a gazelle that turns to look,

    with a beauty spot that, if seen, enchants.