Sol 6.1

  1. سقى الله أيامَ العذيب وبارِقه

    وحيّا زماناً مرَّ في ظلِّ وارقِه

    May God water the days of al-ʿUdhayb and its lightning,

    and bless a time that passed beneath its leafy shade,

  2. ومقتبل للعيش طلْق جبينُه

    مفاض رداء الخِصب نامي حدائِقه

    and life's beginning, bright of brow,

    its cloak of abundance spread wide, its gardens flourishing.

  3. هرقنا به للزَّقِّ في رِّيق الصِبا

    نجيعَ سُلاف البابلي وعاتقه

    There, in youth's first flush, we poured out the wineskin's

    blood—the finest Babylonian wine and its aged vintage.

  4. وروض له من عنبر الشحر مندلٌ

    رطيب ومن دارَين نشرٌ لناشِقة

    And a garden with incense of al-Shihr's ambergris,

    fresh, and a fragrance from Darin for whoever inhales it.

  5. بكرناه حيث الجوّ ينشي مطارفاً

    على الشمس دكني فوق مخضرّ باسقه

    We visited it early, where the sky fashioned cloaks

    dusky over the sun, above its verdant, towering trees;

  6. وحيث سقيط الطلّ ينثر دمعَه

    على وجنتيْ ورد الرُبا وشقائقه

    and where falling dew scatters its tears

    upon the cheeks of the hills' roses and anemones;

  7. وحيث الغدير الطلْق يخفق متنُه

    كقلبِ مُرِيب خائفٍ من روامقه

    and where the clear pool's surface quivers

    like the heart of a suspect, afraid of those watching him;

  8. وحيث جرى ما بين درّ فواقعٍ

    ودُرّ من الحصباء منسابُ دافِقه

    and where there flowed, between pearls of bubbles

    and pearls of pebbles, its freely running current;

  9. وحيث الغصون المائسات تعانقت

    عناقَ مشوق بَعْدَ بُعدٍ لشائقه

    and where the swaying branches embraced

    like a yearning lover embracing his beloved after separation;

  10. وحيث خطيب الدَوْح يشدو بمنطِقٍ

    كمنطق قُسّ عند هدر شقاشقه

    and where the orator of the great trees sings with eloquence

    like Quss's speech in his thundering outbursts;

  11. وحيث تنازعن الأماني نفوسنا

    وكل بعيد قد تدانى لوامقه

    and where hopes contended for our souls,

    and every distant thing drew near to whoever loved it.

  12. فظلنا بيوم لا نرى البؤس عنده

    نجرّ ديول النُعم تحت سرادقه

    So we spent a day in which we saw no misery,

    trailing the hems of blessings beneath its canopy,

  13. كظلِّ السَريّ بن السريّ محمد ال

    أمين حليف الفضل حاوي طرائقه

    like the shade of the noble son of a noble, Muhammad al-

    Amin, ally of virtue, encompassing its ways.

  14. وحسبك من شهم إذا ما تهلت

    اسرّتُه أوفت بنشر حقائقه

    And what a gallant man he is! Whenever he beams,

    his features fully disclose his true character.

  15. كريم لو ان البدر ساواه كاد أن

    يعود هلالُ الشكِّ في عينِ رامِقه

    Generous: were the full moon to rival him, it would almost

    revert to a doubtful crescent in its beholder's eye.

  16. فأفعالُه تقضى بحُسْنِ صفاتِه

    وأخلاقُه تقضي بطيبِ خلائقه

    For his deeds attest to the beauty of his qualities,

    and his manners attest to the goodness of his nature.

  17. وأقصى منى العانين طوعَ يمينهِ

    وأرقى مدى الغايات مجرى سوابقه

    And the utmost hopes of the afflicted obey his right hand,

    and the loftiest reach of goals is his swift steeds' racecourse.

  18. له همةٌ أربت على كلِّ مُبرمٍ

    صريمة شأو ثابت العزمِ صادقِه

    His ambition surpasses that of every man who steels

    his resolve toward a goal, steadfast and true to his purpose.

  19. فيا من غدت أوصافه الغر تزدري

    بنشْرِ فتِيق المِسْك من كف فاتقه

    So, O you whose radiant qualities have come to look down on

    the fragrance of opened musk from its opener's palm,

  20. إِليك بها بَهنانة عبقرية

    تهادَى بروض زاهر الزهر فائقه

    here she is for you: a lovely, wondrous maiden,

    gliding through a garden of bright, peerless blossoms.

  21. أتت ترتجي منك القبول تفضلاً

    ودم راقياً في العز أعلا شواهقه

    She has come hoping for your gracious acceptance;

    and may you keep ascending in glory to its highest peaks.